11 January 2025

Epstein and Tensions within the Israeli-American Alliance

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/11/05/israel-blackmail-the-presidents/

Not a few historians, analysts, and commentators wonder just who is in charge? Who is calling the shots in terms of the US-Israel relationship? At times it almost seems like Israel has the upper hand and steers the American ship - at least with regard to Middle Eastern policy.

The reality is the relationship is complicated and such an Israeli-dominant position would represent an oversimplification. There is a circularity to the arrangement and yet the United States ultimately holds the cards. The attempts by Israel to manipulate US politics are effective but limited. At the end of the day it is a supplicant and yet this is counter-balanced by the fact that the Washington Establishment views Israel as essential to its Middle-Eastern policy. If Israel did not exist, the US would have created something like it. Biden has said as much over and over again throughout his long political career. It's one of the most honest and revealing statements he's ever made.

There have been times when the relationship has been strained. Many think of the Obama era, but actually the relationship was under greater strain during the presidency of George HW Bush in the late 1980's and early 1990's. It could be argued that US pressure during this period opened the door to the Oslo Accords which took place under Clinton. The PLO was defeated and the US wanted Israel to sign a deal - even as other Palestinian elements were becoming more radicalised. It's noteworthy that the PLO's capitulations resulted in the rise of Hamas.

Israel absolutely relies on US support and backing and will do anything to make sure this continues at the utmost level. As such it has an extensive intelligence and political operation within the United States itself and works closely with its American allies in both parties - but as all will know its most fervent (perhaps fanatical) supporters are within the GOP. Some of these political figures are motivated by the Dispensational Theology which continues to dominate American Evangelicalism. It seems fairly clear the CIA also works both domestically and internationally to facilitate Israeli interests - at least where they overlap with US goals and strategy. And while Likud-US relations were strained under GHW Bush, under Netanyahu the relationship has been solid and it's clear that pro-Likud elements within the US have been willing to work against and thwart the Democratic administrations of Clinton and Obama - even though they remained solidly pro-Israel. But from the standpoint of Tel Aviv, they proved too compromising and Likud has always been willing to aid the GOP in scoring political points against its Democratic opponents and vice versa. The recent Elise Stefanik speech in the Knesset was an example of this, regardless of the fact that had a Democratic politician bashed a Republican president on foreign soil in such a manner, it would have been called out as treasonous.

Despite the expected and politically motivated criticism of Biden from the American and Israeli far right, his administration has been perhaps the most complicit of all - openly supporting the Gaza Genocide.

These intelligence and media operations are aggressive in countering any kind of anti-Israel political campaigns or protests within the US and Europe. The latter theatre has proven more difficult for Israel as Europe (generally speaking) is less amenable to the Zionist narrative and to be blunt the European public is better informed about international events than the average American. The media is also more diverse and as such Tel Aviv is unable to successfully spin their coverage in that venue. This is in contrast to the United States where they dominate - the current US media cover-up (and even promotion) of the Gaza Genocide is a case in point.

Israeli intelligence and political lobbying have played major roles in the media campaign against campus protests in the United States and they also facilitated the Blairite re-capturing of the British Labour Party and the ousting of Jeremy Corbyn under the shadow of a contrived Anti-Semitism scandal within his party. Israel is very effective and it relies on and even wields the United States as a weapon, particularly in the context of Europe.

As I have repeatedly written about over the years, Israel also serves US interests in other theaters by means of weapons sales and transfers, intelligence, and training. Israel has its own goals with regard to profits and alliances. It has historically sought allies beyond the Arab periphery, but this doctrine has permutated over the years due to the Iranian Revolution, the AKP takeover in Türkiye, and motivational shifts within the Arab politics of the Middle East itself.

Epstein sits squarely in the middle of this story - a tool of both the Mossad and American intelligence. Such agencies have always relied on such figures and yet there's a real danger in allowing an operation to expand to such a scale and duration. By the time it collapsed, the exposure was too great and Epstein had to die. The media's condemnation of conspiracy theories regarding his death in a Manhattan prison is itself part of the conspiracy and cover-up. It's clear to anyone with their eyes open, to anyone who understands what he was and represented, that he was murdered. He had to be silenced and he was.

The Epstein story is in keeping with many other such revelations over the years. It reveals a world largely hidden from the public - a world of decadence and deviance that enmeshes the powerful and the elite. Because of this, there are those who run riot and engage in endless and at times absurd speculation - QAnon comes to mind. Their sensationalism is used by the mainstream to discredit and dismiss the real story. It's not just about some jet-set trafficker catering to the elite. No, both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell are deeply connected to intelligence operations - in the case of Maxwell this began with her father who worked with Israel, MI6, and the Americans. Maxwell for her part knows that her silence is the only thing keeping her alive - for the present.

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