It is no secret that the Israel Lobby in the USA has had a significant effect on shaping US foreign policy - to America's detriment, and likely the rest of the world too. For example, how else could Israel continue with its illegal occupation without America's support, even in the face of UN resolutions and a decision of the International Court of Justice.
Double-standards are again on display today. The US Secretary of State has be vocal and forceful in demanding that Syria deliver up its chemical weapons. Now that Syria has said it will allow international supervision of those weapons, that is still not good enough for John Kerry. Has John Kerry sought to bring Israel to book?
So, where does Israel sit in relation to chemical weapons? It hasn't even been prepared to sign up to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and its Convention (see here for details of the Convention).
And then, yesterday, we learn - see the piece in The Guardian "NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel" - that the USA has shared surveillance information obtained by the NSA with Israel. Why is not clear.
"The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.
Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.
The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet. The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state."
Double-standards are again on display today. The US Secretary of State has be vocal and forceful in demanding that Syria deliver up its chemical weapons. Now that Syria has said it will allow international supervision of those weapons, that is still not good enough for John Kerry. Has John Kerry sought to bring Israel to book?
So, where does Israel sit in relation to chemical weapons? It hasn't even been prepared to sign up to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and its Convention (see here for details of the Convention).
And then, yesterday, we learn - see the piece in The Guardian "NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel" - that the USA has shared surveillance information obtained by the NSA with Israel. Why is not clear.
"The National Security Agency routinely shares raw intelligence data with Israel without first sifting it to remove information about US citizens, a top-secret document provided to the Guardian by whistleblower Edward Snowden reveals.
Details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the US government handed over intercepted communications likely to contain phone calls and emails of American citizens. The agreement places no legally binding limits on the use of the data by the Israelis.
The disclosure that the NSA agreed to provide raw intelligence data to a foreign country contrasts with assurances from the Obama administration that there are rigorous safeguards to protect the privacy of US citizens caught in the dragnet. The intelligence community calls this process "minimization", but the memorandum makes clear that the information shared with the Israelis would be in its pre-minimized state."
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