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"Mission Accomplished" - Not!

"On May Day next week, along with the more traditional observances of spring and socialism, we should pause to contemplate the anniversary of Bush's famous triumphalist landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln under the banner 'Mission Accomplished'."

This opening paragraph in an interesting article in AlterNet seeking to analyse how the US got into the Iraq War in the first place, touches on the currently topical subject of the so-called "Israel Lobby" and how it may, or may not, have influenced America's foreign policy.

So, what triggered the War? "Was it oil? Empire? Human rights? The Israel Lobby? Three years later, there's no clear reason why we invaded Iraq, much less any idea how we'll get out" the article asks.

The article goes on to say this

"It is certainly true that Israel itself and its U.S. lobby, AIPAC, were pushing for war on Iraq, as indeed they are now against Iran. Ironically, while pro-Israeli pundits have lambasted the authors of a recent report on the Lobby for their "anti-Semitic" chutzpah in saying this, AIPAC's own website claims corralling Saddam Hussein as one its major aims and achievements. However, while AIPAC certainly helped create a favorable climate for the invasion of Iraq, there is no way that it could have forced such costly military action simply because it was good for Israel."

Read the full AlterNet article here.

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