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"You can’t have an Israeli policy other than what AIPAC gives you around here."

Former U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings

See this article at The Raw Story:

Congressional leaders inadvertently expose Israeli lobbyists behind letter to Obama

GOP House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) circulated a letter to colleagues this week urging President Obama to support Israel when moving forward with any Israeli peace process.

Trouble is, they forgot to delete the name of the lobbying group involved in the letter from the document.

Attached to the email message they circulated when seeking signatures from other members of Congress was the document, titled, "AIPAC Letter Hoyer Cantor May 2009.pdf."

The excuse from an aide of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was, "The letter was discussed with AIPAC, [so] a staffer named it that."

Bullshit, AIPAC would've written it, and Stoyer, Cantor et al would've just obediently signed it. It wouldn't be the first time AIPAC has written letters and even legislation for Congress. Remember H.R. 362, which called for a naval blockade of Iran? Written by AIPAC, in line with Ehud Olmert's proposal to blockade Iran at a meeting with 12 members of Congress just three days before the resolution was introduced in the House. One of those 12 members of Congress just happened to be the same Steny Hoyer who circulated the aforementioned AIPAC letter to his colleagues.

Same with Senate Resolution 534 of 2006, a "resolution condemning Hezbollah and Hamas and their state sponsors and supporting Israel's exercise of its right to self-defense" during the Lebanon war -- written by AIPAC:

On July 18, the Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution "condemning Hamas and Hezbollah and their state sponsors and supporting Israel's exercise of its right to self-defense." After House majority leader John Boehner removed language from the bill urging "all sides to protect innocent civilian life and infrastructure," the House version passed by a landslide, 410 to 8.

AIPAC not only lobbied for the resolution; it had written it. "They [Congress] were given a resolution by AIPAC," said former Carter Administration National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who addressed the House Democratic Caucus on July 19. "They didn't prepare one."

Same with H.R. 34, "recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel" during the recent Gaza massacre -- written by AIPAC.

Today AIPAC's website is bragging about the $555 million in aid that it conned Congress into pledging to Israel, which is only a fraction of the massive $2.775 billion that Israel is expected to receive in a military aid package proposed for 2010.

Despite expectations that the Obama administration will pressure Israel to accept a two-state solution and implement practical measures, the U.S. administration has sent signals that aid to Israel will, in fact, be raised. At the same time, the budget also imposes harsh conditions on the Palestinian Authority in order to receive aid.

According to the Israeli daily, Haaretz, the budget proposed to Congress for 2010 includes $2.775 billion in aid to Israel, compared to $2.5 billon budgeted for 2009. This is more than a 10% increase in total U.S. aid to Israel.

The Congress might as well just stop pretending, hoist the Israeli flag and outsource its bill-writing to Israel. Do away with the red-white-and-blue, and just fly the blue and white.