Bush Meets With Anti-Semite Who Celebrated The Killing Of American Soldiers

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/27/bush-meets-antisemite/

Bush Meets With Anti-Semite Who Celebrated The Killing Of American Soldiers

President Bush reportedly met yesterday with Walid Jumblatt, a member of the Lebanese Parliament who has repeatedly called for U.S.-backed regime change in Syria.

After visiting the White House, Jumblatt addressed the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, which wields significant influence within the administration. “Many people say there won’t be a stable Lebanon without regime change in Syria,” Jumblatt said, adding that he “urged the Bush administration to aid opposition groups fighting the rule” of Syrian President Assad.

Jumblatt’s meeting with the White House is notable not just because of his radical foreign policy views. In the past, Jumblatt has cheered the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq, referred to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as “oil-colored,” and claimed the real axis of evil is one of “oil and Jews.”

– “We are all happy when U.S. soldiers are killed week in and week out. The killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq is legitimate and obligatory.”

– “The oil axis is present in most of the U.S. administration, beginning with its president, vice-president and top advisers, including (Condoleezza) Rice, who is oil-colored, while the axis of Jews is present with Paul Wolfowitz, the leading hawk who is inciting (America) to occupy and destroy Iraq.”

– “In November 2003, the United States revoked Jumblatt’s diplomatic visa for wishing out loud that Wolfowitz had been killed in a Baghdad rocket attack.”

While the White House has yet to comment on Jumblatt’s visit, his regime change talk yesterday “drew a round of applause from the AEI audience.”

It must have been like a breath of fresh air for him. And, perhaps, eased his loneliness a little.

called the Muslim Brotherhood. He represents the wing that wants to over-throw Syria. And there's another wing of the same group that wants to over-throw Egypt. He's in this thing to do Saudi Arabia's bidding in Lebanon first, i.e. overthrow Hezbollah, then he'll be rewarded with their support against Syria.

really a nice group of thugs. it`s not surprising that the neocons would be working with them because they are the same kind of people..

1. It won't pull down the whole Mid-East.
2. The fall of the Mid-East won't pull down the whole United States.

I'm realizing now that there's a LTTE in there somewhere.

You know, Bin Ladens mentor, and 2nd in command.

I'll go look that up.

Thanks!

war.

War and Peace. Peace and War.

And Cheney is returning from his war set-up.

What kind of papers will he be pulling out of his pocket when he meets with Rumsfeld and PNAC?

How long will it take to convince the Generals that they're ready?

imo - European leaders have sided with the U.S. - they're going to let our kids be used for their part of the oil deal.

Democratic leaders who met with this guy (like Kerry, Dodd, or Biden) or it could be seen as a little hypocritical criticizing * for meeting with someone like Jumblatt.

Oh, nevermind...

If Jumblatt is Arabic (and it sounds as though he is) then he's also Semitic.

It's sad that the term "anti-Semitic" has come to mean "anti-Jewish" because Arabs and some Egyptians and some others throughout the Middle East are also Semitic, but not Jewish.

Back in the 19th century, the term was coined by someone who either didn't know or didn't care that other peoples of middle-eastern origin could be termed semitic as well. I suspect he didn't care, because he was attempting to describe a Western phenomenon, and Arabs weren't of particular interest to many people in the West back then. But in any case, the term hasn't "come to mean anti-Jewish"; that's what it's always meant.

You hear a lot of Arabs say, I can't be anti-Semitic because I am a Semite. But most of them know better. They're playing word-games. Not unlike the ones who say, I'm not anti-Semitic (or anti-Jewish), I'm anti-Zionist. Which really means, keep the fucking Jews away from me.

You know perfectly well the history of the term. It's been posted to you personally. Cute game playing though.

:eyes:

of course, Juan Cole pointed out the “e are all happy when U.S. soldiers are killed week in and week out. The killing of U.S. soldiers in Iraq is legitimate and obligatory” quote, but the kool-aid drinkers (willingly) overlooked it

The president can meet with any foreign leader or official he wants. It is only the purpose of such a visit that is important. To decry Bush for seeing such a man is to jump the gun. Obviously we're using him to affect Syrian politics. Using evil men to good ends is no crime. It is often poor judgement, as the means can easily be more destructive than the benefit generated by the end. But in of itself, it is just a tactic to be used in foreign relations.

(Yes. I know. It is the same argument that was used to justify proping up dictators like Pinochet. I'm not saying it is always a good idea. Just that it is not necessarily a bad idea.)

The other half of me says, from what I see, there are no good reasons to be meeting with this man. He may be important and influencial enough to matter in Syrian politics, but we are far too busy to be concerned with Syrian politics. He speaks like a bigoted moron, and even if he has to in order to maintain his political position, why reward such behavior? Let his Druze followers find a more articulate and moderate front man.

In any case, it is most certainly opposed to the ideology the Bush Administration spouts regarding the "War on Terror". But then again action and rhetoric rarely match up in this administration.