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Leftists blast Rand Paul for Pro-Israel stance
“Israel and the United States have a special relationship. With our shared history and common values, the American and Israeli people have formed a bond that unites us across the many thousands of miles between our countries and calls us to work together towards peace and prosperity for our countries.” -- Rand Paul, Republican US Senate nominee, Kentucky


by Eric Dondero

With the Israeli attacks on the Muslim Terrorist Flotilla front and center in the news, some interesting political dynamics have opened up. Leftists who may have been attracted to Ron Paul in past campaigns, are now openly distancing themselves from the campaign of his libertarian-conservative son Rand Paul for US Senate. And they appear to be doing so primarly over his views on Defense matters, particularly the younger Paul's steadfast support for Israel.

Kelly Vlahos is a freelance reporter in Washington D.C. She is a former reporter for the Socialist Workers News and currently rights for the Pat Buchanan supporting, paleo American Conservative magazine. She's a frequent guest on Pacifica Radio, Democracy Now!, and Al Jazeera.

She recently penned an editorial at AntiWar.com, "Rand Paul Drinks Tea, Turns Into Hawk?"

Vlahos leads off:
Today, Paul’s son Rand is one step closer to becoming a U.S. senator, giving him a platform exceeding that of his libertarian father’s on Capitol Hill. This development should be a major boon for antiwar activists and civil libertarians who have long relied on the elder Paul and his “revolution” as a reasonable voice for non-intervention...

But after months of a grueling primary, it is not yet clear where the younger Paul’s savvy campaigning ends and his true ideological impulses begin, particularly on national security and foreign policy.
Vlahos then goes on to criticize Paul's strong defense of Israel, and even accuses him of being too much like the staunchly Pro-Israel George W. Bush:
More recently, he publicly chose sides with Israel on the politically explosive issue of Middle East peace. This seems so oddly forced and out of place that it might only be explained as more pandering to the right wing:
“I would never vote to place trade restrictions on Israel, and I would filibuster any attempts to place sanctions on Israel or tariffs on any Israeli goods.

“The issue of Palestine is incredibly difficult and complex. The entire world wishes for peace in the region, but any arrangement or treaty must come from Israel, when she is ready and when her conditions have been met.

“I strongly object to the arrogant approach of Obama administration, itself a continuation of the failures of past U.S. administrations, as they push Israel to make security concessions behind thinly veiled threats.

“Only Israel can decide what is in her security interest, not America and certainly not the United Nations. Friends do not coerce friends to trade land for peace, or to give up the vital security interests of their people.”
It all sounds too much like the last administration for some of his early supporters to bear.
Christine Smith of Colorado, who has an AntiWar blog cites some Pro-Defense positions of Rand Paul, including "Supports military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees" rather than given the same constitutional rights of American citizens.
the last thing we need is to become identified with another right wing conservative with stances so anti-freedom. The positions above I consider to be antithetic to limited government and respect for individual liberty

I will never support someone who is just another conservative... This is why I do not support Rand Paul...
Meanwhile, another prominent AntiWar activist aligned with groups such as Code Pink is Justin Raimondo (AntiWar.com). He says of the younger Paul:
I wouldn’t give Rand Paul the time of day.
Raimondo in a recent editorial criticized Paul for his comments in favor of defending Israel from a nuclear attack by Iran in the Middle East.

Raimondo is of course, a prime 9/11 Truther who suggests in his soon-to-be-released book "The Terror Enigma: Israel and the 911 Connection" that Israel itself was behind the attacks.

Carol Moore, a longtime Leftist Libertarian activists acknowledges on her blog CarolMoore.net that Raimondo is known to harbor "alleged anti-Semitism." She describes Raimondo, Managing Editor for AntiWar.com as "The most vehement and unceasing libertarian critic of Israel."

Attacks from fringe types such as Raimondo, Vlahos and Smith, can only help Paul to win election in the Fall among traditionalist fiercely pro-military/pro-defense Kentucky voters.
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69 comments // Libertarians HATE Palestine!

  • libertyforall
  • Debra_
  • shanklinmike
  • Radical_Centrist
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • Debra_:

      wow, you are getting dumber.
      im niether a libertarian, or a zionist.
      man you are in love with labeling people.
      so much so you had 5 down votes before i even happened across this

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
  • shanklinmike
    • +2
      shanklinmike  
    • It's not that anybody should be anti a country, but libertarians are certainly not pro-Zionism. Libertarians see nation states and countries as collectivism and barriers through governments. In this video, Ron Paul even calls out the republican Zionist movement and it is apparent that the neocons are out in full force. You obviously don't understand that most libertarians got that way fighting against the neocons Zionism, which is what the opposite of what this article would make one think...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9TCC14akXk

    • 1 year ago
  • shanklinmike
    • 0
      shanklinmike  
    • Rand is not a Libertarian, and his father is much more Libertarian than him. This is why I have not helped Rand in this election because he is more neocon.

      It's so weird hearing his father and then hearing him on foreign policy.

      I even made this video about him and how he is not a libertarian but a neocon...

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7Y0vhLViLA

    • 1 year ago
  • petkus331
    • +5
      petkus331  
    • Hi, I am a Libertarian, and I hate the STATE of Israel. I do not care about religion, they are all delusions to me as i am an atheist. Israel is a fake state that has displaced the people of Palestine. Rand Paul clearly does not have a non-interventionist foreign policy like his more libertarian father, Ron.

    • 1 year ago
  • shanklinmike
  • mik661
    • -2
      mik661  
    • petkus331:

      Before you start spouting off you better read a little history. The Jews have been in Palestine for thousands of years. Most Palestinian supporters have take to claiming that they are the literal descendants of the biblical philistines in attempt to prove that they have occupied Palestine first. there was a palestinian state proposed but Jordan was created instead and awarded to the son of a powerful Arab king.

    • 1 year ago
  • Radical_Centrist
  • mik661
    • -2
      mik661  
    • Radical_Centrist:

      How about the 40 year old occupation by the PLO? How about the current occupation by Hamas? If the Palestinians weren't busy fighting Jews they would be busy killing each other just like the current situation in Iraq.

    • 1 year ago
  • Radical_Centrist
  • mik661
  • Radical_Centrist
    • 0
      Radical_Centrist  
    • mik661:

      Aside from the Kurds Saddam had a policy you do not screw with me and I do not screw with you. When he was in Power an American could walk down "ANY" street in Iraq 24/7 flashing money and no one would dare touch you. Now you get beheaded going to the grocery store in broad daylight. Dont buy Rumsfelds BS.

      I correspond with several people from Iraq both through email and snail-mail and have for years. They all agree that there are plus and minus to Saddam being gone, but the minuses FAR outweigh the pluses. The biggest winners in Iraq have been Haliburton and the Kurds.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
  • OrbViper
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • Radical_Centrist:

      saddam favored the sunni, over the shia and made it worse by accusing all shia as traitors when he was at war with (shia) iran.
      dont fuck with me, and i wont fuck with you was not a policy ever held by saddam.
      im gunna fuck with you based on the slightest hint of what ever was his policy.

      thus leaving sunnis and shia to be hyper xenophobic of one another once his influence was removed.each thinking the other was going to capitalize,
      shia thinking saddam represented how sunnis would govern them, and sunnis fearfull that shia would exact identical revenge if in power.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
  • mik661
  • Radical_Centrist
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • Radical_Centrist:

      i agree it would be better for all had we not usurped thier natural order, but the results arent our responsability.
      just as the bullet manufacturer isnt responsible for how it is used, we cant be blamed for iraqi's internal bullshit.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • freecrack:

      Cheney and Rumsfield were told what was going to happen with 100% accuracy. When one general stood up and gave correct estimates of troop strength and time lines for victory he was fired. They knew what the results were going to be and did it anyway.

    • 1 year ago
  • maasanova
    • 0
      maasanova  
    • Rand Paul is not a libertarian based on his foreign policy stance and Justin Raimondo is not an antisemite and he is absolutely correct in his research and conclusions on Israel and 9/11.

    • 1 year ago
  • shanklinmike
  • mik661
    • -1
      mik661  
    • maasanova:

      Of course the Zionists sent their mossad agents over to conspire with the Rothschild's to blow up the twin towers and trick America into destroying their Arab enemies.

    • 1 year ago
  • Radical_Centrist
  • mik661
  • maasanova
    • 0
      maasanova  
    • mik661:

      As far as I know Raimondo has not called out Israel as having been responsible for 9/11 like many other 9/11 researchers have concluded. He has has accused them having been involved in one way or another but from what I've read it was only having prior knowledge, receiving advanced warning and only passed on vague, non-specific threats.

      There is really no debating the fact that they, along with the rest of the neocons in the Bush administration knew something was going to happen and made no attempt to warn specifically warn the people of America.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • maasanova:

      Even if they did I doubt our government agencies would have been competent enough to prevent it anyhow. Five years prior to 911 the FFA suggested armoring cockpit doors at a cost of about $750 per plane and the airlines declined to spend the money. The flight training had already been brought to the fbi's attention by its own agent. Does it really matter what the Israelis did or did not say ands would we have listened anyway.

    • 1 year ago
  • Radical_Centrist
    • 0
      Radical_Centrist  
    • mik661:

      I do not deny this, but the bottom line is the occupation NEEDS to end. There is little doubt in my mind is the occupation ended the Palestinians resistance to it would end as well.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • Radical_Centrist:

      I will have to disagree with you I think that if they were given a palestinian state it would resemble Lebanon with outside parties such as syria and iran operating it as a proxy state much as they do now to continue their policies against israel and each other.

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
  • mik661
    • 0
      mik661  
    • freecrack:

      Do you think that they are being apologists for Arab terrorists or that it makes them feel better about themselves to believe in massive government conspiracies?

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • mik661:

      centrist has a habit of not recognizing left wing propaganda when he sees it, and is simply missled.
      massanova on the other hand, is just floating antisemitism to see what he can build upon.

    • 1 year ago
  • ed2point0
    • +3
      ed2point0  
    • For those who know Eric Dondero, he is no libertarian and has constantly attacked the elder Paul for his position regarding Israel, a position I share as well. I felt that the floutilla raid was an act of piracy and that the blockade was an act of war. Yes, I am a critic of Israel and it's policies because we basically condone everything they do regardless of what happens to the Palestinians. And for the record, no country has the "right" to exist. It doesn't matter if Israel succeeds or fails, that's not our problem. Our goal is not to defend Israel or pay homage to it, our only goal is to protect this nation and nothing more. We can have diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, but not an entangling alliance as we have now. By the way, a "libertarian" Republican is code word for neocon. Sorry Eric, try again next time.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
    • -2
      mik661  
    • ed2point0:

      I think I read something like this before. On yea his name was Chamerlain. Just sit back in the good old usa and ignore the rest of the world because it doesnt make any difference to us.

    • 1 year ago
  • ed2point0
    • 0
      ed2point0  
    • mik661:

      Is this the best rebuttal you got? Accusations of isolationism will not work simply because I've already faced these accusations before. I support a non-interventionist foreign policy where we can have diplomatic relations and trade relations with other nations, but no entangling alliances and nation building. The only nation we should be protecting and concerned with is our own, but it doesn't hurt to have relations with other nations. Thomas Jefferson made the same argument I assume you thing he's an isolationist. As for Chamberlain, he was an appeaser because he gave former Czechoslovakia to Hitler in 1938. Try to come up with a better argument next time.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
    • -1
      mik661  
    • ed2point0:

      http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=849 Looking dispassionately at the political scene, the British choice made sense: Britain needed the Arabs more than they needed the Jews. There were a number of reasons for this: there were more Arabs than Jews in the region, and Arab countries spanned an enormous expanse; the Arabs also had a choice of supporting the Nazis - as many of their leaders in Palestine and Iraq indeed did; the Jews, on the other hand, had no choice but to support the Allies.

      And, last and not least, the international standing of the Jews was weak, given the ascendancy of Nazism and of anti-Semitic movements all over Europe.

      So the British government decided to placate and appease the Arabs. The British White Paper on Palestine, which was released in the spring of 1939, was a dramatic withdrawal from the Balfour Declarations and the commitments Britain made to the League of Nations in accepting the Mandate over Palestine.

      An absolute cap of 100,000 future immigrants was put on Jewish entry to Palestine - thus condemning the Yishuv to the status of a permanent minority in the country; severe limitations on purchase of land by Jews were enacted, ensuring that the Jewish population would not be able to spread out to areas - such as the Negev - which could give a future Jewish state an adequate territorial base.

      This was indeed appeasement - not of the Nazis, but of the Arabs. And the reasons were the same as the current trend in US policy: because the Arabs were an unreliable ally; they could cross over to the other side.

      It was politically a reasonable step; morally it was despicable. It was responsible for the British policy of turning back Jewish refugees from the shores of Palestine during the war, even if they were able to flee Nazi-occupied Europe. This was the policy which was responsible, among others, for the sinking of the Struma and for the deportation of the illegal immigrants of the Patria to Mauritius in the middle of the war against Hitler.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • ed2point0:

      so when a ship is destine for your shores, usurping security protocals, boarding said ship is piracy? what is it called then when a ship enters your nation after being denied? what is it called when it tries to enter your ports, and refuses to adhere to security checks?

      so if we blockade our borders from aggression, despite it being a defensive move, to you it is war? if it is war, then how is bording the ship piracy, not part of the forementioned state of war?

      we condone what israel does, regardless of what happens to the palestinians, cuz israel is the majority of the time defending, against the attacks of the palestinians.the enemies of israel, are the enemies of democracy.hence thier hatred of the west, not just one of us, but all of us.

      no country has the right to exist? not even your own?
      if no country has the right to exist, why care about what heppens to the palestinians, as they have no right to exist as palestinians?

      to protect this nation, we must advocate for israel, as they are the front line in combat with our enemies.remove israel from the equasion, and we have zero intel on terrorism, and all the attacks israel recieves, would be focused on us.it really isnt that complex.they view us all the same, just like our hatefull view all of islam the same.they dont differenciate between israel and england and us.

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
  • ed2point0
    • 0
      ed2point0  
    • freecrack:

      Only a neocon would attempt to argue the point you've just made. I stand by my position that we can have diplomatic relations and trade relations with all, alliances with none.

    • 1 year ago
  • ed2point0
    • 0
      ed2point0  
    • freecrack:

      Thank you for justifying Israel's horrific actions against the people of Palestine. You've just strengthened my argument that we need to end our interventionist foreign policy and stop condoning Israel's actions. And yes, no country has the "right" to exist since Israel was created by the UN in 1948. Keep up the good work shilling for Israel, I'll stick to advocating a noninterventionist foreign policy and not have to constantly justify Israel's tactics.

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • ed2point0:

      excellent.
      label, and name call instead of adressing a single point.
      and im the neo-con huh?
      seems as if you are functioning stricly within thier playbook.
      less regulation (with no specifics)
      less tax's (with no specifics)
      security (with no specifics)
      and here you are throwing neo-con out as if it were a curse word, as you follow thier protocol to the letter.broad statements, with no adressing any actual issue.
      sure im the neo-con here.

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • ed2point0:

      i dont shill for israel, especialy in this case as i am advocating for us by using israel.if anything im shilling for the exploitation of israel, to our benefit.but i guess reactionary statements come more easily than those of substative thought.

      the situation between the israeli's and the palestinians has no justification on either side, as both are clearly criminal in thier behavior towards one another.but with that said, despite criminality being s.o.p., israel has functioned reasonably.
      far more so than us, by miles.

      i dont understand why "no country has the right to exist cuz israel was created in 1948."
      are you saying only countries before that point have a right to exist, or did you just throw in that random fact while you literaly think not a single nation on the planet has a right to exist?

      i dont have to justify anyones tactics, as i lead no nation.wtf is wrong with you?

    • 1 year ago
  • ed2point0
  • ed2point0
    • 0
      ed2point0  
    • freecrack:

      Yes, no country has the "right" to exist. Nations are voluntarily created by the people living within the area where they decide on what kind of government they will have, where the boundaries will be drawn and other factors. Israel was created by the UN in 1948 and just because it was created doesn't mean it deserves special treatment. It shouldn't matter if Israel or any other nation succeeds or fails, they must do so on their own terms without the help of outside forces. And for the record, you just shilled for Israel. The better question is, what's wrong with you.

    • 1 year ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • ed2point0:

      it is clear that you dont have the investment in israeli history that i do, and that is fine most dont.but the reality, just for clarification, israel was gunna do as it was gunna do regardless of what the un decided.they would be where they ae regardless.

      i agree.i want no special treatment for israel, just equal standards as every other nation.they are the middle east jewish version of what we are to puritan western christians.

      facts are facts, and if they come out showing one party favorably it is what it is.but it isnt shilling.
      unless the green movement is shilling for the earth?

    • 1 year ago
  • Radical_Centrist
    • +1
      Radical_Centrist  
    • God KNOWS you have Libertarian on the brain, but I think you have found something we agree on. I do not care at all for the way Rand Paul basically endorsed our foreign policy as it applies to Israel. I can ASSURE you it was anything but a Libertarian stand. Truth be told however I think he just said that to avoid the wrath of AIPAC.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
  • Radical_Centrist
  • mik661
    • -1
      mik661  
    • Image
    • Radical_Centrist:

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/25/rand-paul-takes-center-st_n_625350.html LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Libertarian-leaning Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul, who calls himself a political outsider, took center stage at a high-dollar fundraiser Thursday evening that highlighted his trip to Washington, D.C., to hobnob with insiders.

      Rand Paul was the guest of honor at the event at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Tickets went for $1,000 per person, with sponsorships up to $5,000 per group.

      By appearing at the fundraiser, Rand Paul seemed to back off a campaign promise to avoid GOP lawmakers who voted for the massive 2008 financial bailout. Nine of 12 GOP senators listed on the invitation voted for the $700 billion bank bailout.

    • 1 year ago
  • mik661
  • freecrack
  • Radical_Centrist
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  
    • Radical_Centrist:

      not more than unions or any number of other far more powerfull organizations, like opec.
      but hey why focus on the top power brokers, when the minors you hate are more personaly satisfying to attack.

      i just cant seem to recall that time that aipac was offended by anyone, and that some one was ousted as a result.i know im a stickler for the bounds of reality

    • 1 year ago
  • MrMxyzptlk
  • mik661
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