Why Iraq? Part 7

As has been highlighted by the Abramoff affair, lobbyists play an extremely powerful role in Congress. One of the most powerful lobbies, as described by Jeffrey Goldberg in "The New Yorker" July 4, 2005, is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which "lobbies for Israel's financial and physical security." Congressmen who have been adequately pro-Israel have been financially rewarded through a network of pro-Israel political-action committees (PACs) which have doled out millions of dollars. Congressmen who have not been adequately pro-Israel have been punished, as acceptable opponents were found and then heavily financed so as to defeat those congressmen in the next election.

Goldberg further notes that "AIPAC lobbied Congress in favor of the Iraq war," and thus it is not surprising that Congress passed the infamous October 2002 resolution authorizing President Bush to invade Iraq. Incidentally, way back on page A30, today's New York Times reports that a former Defense Department analyst was sentenced yesterday to 12 years 7 months in prison after admitting he passed classified military information, "military secrets whose disclosure could have damaged the US," to two AIPAC lobbyists and an Israeli diplomat.