US Presidential Candidates and Officials Pledge Obedience to Israeli Policies Before AIPAC, Olmert Incites Against Iran

US Presidential candidates promise full support to Israel

Friday June 06, 2008 04:17 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

The three major candidates for the US Presidency all voiced their overwhelming support for the state of Israel this week, at the annual conference of the American Israel Political Action Committee, or AIPAC.

Democratic Senator Barack Obama took a much more hawkish stand than he has in the past.

In his speech to the pro-Israel group, Obama stated that he would meet with the leadership of Iran QUOTE "if and only if it can advance the interest of the United States."

This reverses a position he took last year that he would meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions.

Obama also took a position on the issue of occupied Jerusalem, saying that Jerusalem should be the QUOTE 'undivided' capital of Israel (which is part of the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, occupied by Israeli occupation forces since 1967).

This statement goes even further than the position of George W. Bush, who met this week with Israel's Prime Minister to discuss the status of Jerusalem, among other issues.

John McCain and Hillary Clinton gave similar speeches to the pro-Israel lobby group, promising to continue the unconditional military and financial aid given by the US government to the Zionist state each year.

None of the three candidates brought up the issue of the siege on Gaza, the attacks on Palestinian civilians, or the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

Olmert at AIPAC: United with Bush on Iran

Thursday June 05, 2008 19:00 by The Real News Network

Just as the Democratic Party was securing its nominee during their South Dakota and Montana primaries last night, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was giving a speech to more than 7,000 people at the AIPAC dinner in Washington with possibly just as much consequence on the future of America's foreign policy.

In the midst of a conference that has been immersed in the question of how to deal with the conceived threat Iran presents, Olmert encouraged sanctions on Iran and nations that refine gasoline for Iran, and called for nations to make it clear that Iranian businesses are not welcome within their borders. He based this on the grounds that Iran is the world's "largest exporter of terrorism" and that the country's "defiance of international resolutions and its continued tactics of deception and denial leave no doubt as to the urgent need for more drastic and robust measures."

This the same day Israeli newspaper Ha'arertz reported that Olmert will "try to convince Bush to set aside the national intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program in favor of data presented by Israel, and determine the administration's policy on Iran accordingly."

With John McCain and Condoleezza Rice in the sidelines taking equally hostile positions on Iran at the conference, Olmert has managed to take the stage in an effort to convince Bush something must be done with Iran immediately despite the accusations of corruption, and even threat of losing his job, he faces at home.

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