US general with Iraq role linked to hardline Israelis:
The retired general named as civilian governor of occupied Iraq has visited Israel on a trip paid for by a right-wing group that strongly backs an American military presence in the Middle East.
Lieutenant-General Jay Garner, the co-ordinator for civilian administration in Iraq, put his name in October 2000 to a statement blaming Palestinians for the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence and saying that a strong Israel was an important security asset to the United States.
The statement was sponsored by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (Jinsa), which pays for retired US military officers to visit Israel for security briefings by Israeli officials and politicians. Richard Perle, one of the architects of the US invasion of Iraq, is a member of the institute’s board of advisers, as was Vice-President Dick Cheney before he took office in 2001.
Lt-Gen Garner went on Jinsa’s annual trip to Israel in 1998. Two years later, he and 42 other senior retired officers said: “We are appalled by the Palestinian political and military leadership that teaches children the mechanics of war while filling their heads with hate. The security of the state of Israel is a matter of great importance to US policy in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, as well as around the world. A strong Israel is an asset that American military planners and political leaders can rely on.”
At the risk of being politically incorrect…but,DUDE, who wants to be politically correct these days? Anyways, there are lot of people very close to this war with close ties to Israel. I think this is weird. I mean, there’s not a lot of people with close ties to Norway or something. They’re tied to Israel and we’re invading one of it’s biggest threats. HELLO. Speaking of…I haven’t heard of any Israeli troops in Iraq. What’s up with that?