Israeli PR Manual

A new war has begun, and the Israeli public relation services are running 24/7. During the last weeks, a whole bunch of Israeli spokespersons have appeared on CNN and BBC, representing the army, as well as the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs. Of course, not everyone is qualified for such TV appearances. Candidates need to follow extensive training. Recently, a small part of a training manual, issued by the Joint Security Forces (Ministry of Defence and the Moussad), has leaked and circulated among a small group of journalists and anti-war activists.

A section of this manual contains the following instructions for Israeli spokespersons:

- Keep looking into the camera, and smile at the beginning and the end of the interview. Be very serious, and even upset during the interview, as our nation is under attack by fundamentalist militants.

- Do not forget that, under all circumstances, we are right. Never admit to cruelty, mistakes or miscalculations.

- Hezbollah is a TERRORIST organization. Never refer to it as a ‘resistance movement’.

- Emphasize that our struggle is solely against Hezbollah, and not Lebanon, or its people. Never mind the fact that almost everyone out there is supporting them, and that Hezbollah is part of a democratically elected government. Use terms, such as ‘state within a state’ and ‘hijacking Lebanon’ as much as possible.

- Our mission is to free Lebanon from Hezbollah fundamentalism, and to defend our innocent citizens. Do not mention anything about the two soldiers who were taken hostage by the Hezbollah (what were their names again?). We cannot afford to tell the world that we have been killing hundreds of people, and wiping off entire neighborhoods and villages, just for two Israeli soldiers.

- “We have the right to defend ourselves”. Use this phrase whenever you have nothing else to say.

- Make sure that everyone believes that Hezbollah actually started the war, and our struggle is completely reactive.

- When asked why Israel attacks public areas in Lebanon, emphasize our military objective to destroy Hezbollah ‘infrastructure’ (another term you may use very often). Our main argument is that, as Hezbollah militants may use all available infrastructure in Lebanon, such as roads, non-military buildings, hospitals, etc, we have therefore the right to destroy pretty much everything we want. However, try to formulate this argument in a more diplomatic fashion.

- It is important that Israeli people and politicians are viewed as innocent, civilized and enlightened folks, whereas Hezbollah and its people as hairy savages. Hence, it is essential that you are cleanly shaven, wear official cloths, and have a Euro-American appearance. The more people in the civilized world (North America and Europe) identify themselves with us, the higher the chances that they would accept our truth. If you are originally from the United States, or you can imitate the American accent well, that is even better.

- The world should see our little Jewish state as the frontier of freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Hezbollah, and it superiors (i.e., Iran and Syria) want to destroy us, because they cannot stand our freedom and modern democracy. This hatred has not been generated by the fact that we have killed Arabs and occupied their lands, as some may suggest.

- Whenever faced with critical questions regarding the ‘disproportionate’ acts of violence by Israeli forces, draw an analogy with the Second World War in which the allies destroyed entire cities. In most cases, this strategy would make them quiet.

- Never appear on Arab televisions. They may ask too many difficult questions.

Words

- You've been very rude to them.
- It's as if you don't live here.
- You are a good researcher.
- When will you quit being a kid and get a life?
- I miss you.
- Yeah, I think it's a good idea too.... to break up.
- Sir, have you packed your bag yourself?
- I know, things are a bit hectic now. But it will get better.
- Focus on your work.
- How's it going?
- You MUST take a vacation.
- So you're from Ghana?
- I'm sorry.
- Why are you talking to me like that?
- You look like a fucking communist with your hair, glasses and army uniform....
-... Whatever "flight jacket".
- Did you finish the report?
- I love you!

I heard these words in the period between January and July this year. It's amazing how one's life can turn upside-down, and then arises once more from underneath the ruins of its existence.

George Bush's resume

GEORGE W. BUSH
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20520


EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

LAW ENFORCEMENT

I was arrested in Kennebunkport, Maine , in 1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol. I pled guilty, paid a fine, and had my driver's license suspended for 30 days. My Texas driving record has been "lost" and is not available.

MILITARY

I joined the Texas Air National Guard and went AWOL. I refused to take a drug test or answer any questions about my drug use. By joining the Texas Air National Guard, I was able to avoid combat duty in Vietnam

COLLEGE

I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. I was a cheerleader.

PAST WORK EXPERIENCE

I ran for U.S. Congress and lost. I began my career in the oil business in Midland, Texas , in 1975. I bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas . The company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.

I bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using taxpayer money. With the help of my father and our friends in the oil industry, including Enron CEO Ken Lay, I was elected governor of Texas .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS

I changed Texas pollution laws to favor power and oil companies, making Texas the most polluted state in the Union .

During my tenure, Houston replaced Los Angeles as the most smog-ridden city in America

I cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas treasury to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

I set the record for the most executions by any governor in American history.

With the help of my brother, the governor of Florida , and my father's appointments to the Supreme Court, I became President after losing by over 500,000 votes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS PRESIDENT

I am the first President in U.S. history to enter office with a criminal record.

I invaded and occupied two countries at a continuing cost of over one billion dollars per week.

I spent the U.S. surplus and effectively bankrupted the U.S. Treasury.

I shattered the record for the largest annual deficit in U.S. history.

I set an economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.

I set the all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the U.S. stock market.

In my first year in office, over 2 million Americans lost their jobs and that trend continues every month.

I'm proud that the members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in U.S. history. My "poorest millionaire," Condoleeza Rice, had a Chevron oil tanker named after her.

I set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips by a U.S. President. I am the all-time U.S . and world record-holder for receiving the most corporate campaign donations.

My largest lifetime campaign contributor, and one of my best friends, Kenneth Lay, presided over the largest corporate bankruptcy fraud in U.S. History, Enron.

My political party used Enron private jets and corporate attorneys to assure my success with the U.S. Supreme Court during my election decision.

I have protected my friends at Enron and Halliburton against investigation or prosecution.

More time and money was spent investigating the Monica Lewinsky affair than has been spent investigating one of the biggest corporate rip- offs in history.

I presided over the biggest energy crisis in U.S. history and refused to intervene when corruption involving the oil industry was revealed.

I presided over the highest gasoline prices in U.S. history.

I changed the U.S. policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

I appointed more convicted criminals to administration than any President in U.S. history.

I created the Ministry of Homeland Security, the largest bureaucracy in the history of the United States government.

I've broken more international treaties than any President in U.S. history.

I am the first President in U.S. history to have the United Nations remove the U.S. from the Human Rights Commission.

I withdrew the U.S. from the World Court of Law. I refused to allow inspectors access to U.S . "prisoners of war" detainees and thereby have refused to abide by the Geneva Convention.

I am the first President in history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 U.S. election).

I set the record for fewest numbers of press conferences of any President since the advent of television.

I set the all-time record for most days on vacation in any one-year period. After taking off the entire month of August, I presided over the worst security failure in U.S . history.

I garnered the most sympathy for the U.S. after the World Trade Center attacks and less than a year later made the U.S. the most hated country in the world, the largest failure of diplomacy in world history.

I have set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously protest me in public venues (15 million people), shattering the record for protests against any person in the history of mankind.

I am the first President in U.S. history to order an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack and the military occupation of a sovereign nation. I did so against the will of the United Nations, the majority of U.S. citizens, and the world community.

I have cut health care benefits for war veterans and support a cut in duty benefits for active duty troops and their families-in-wartime.

In my State of the Union Address, I lied about our reasons for attacking Iraq and then blamed the lies on our British friends.

I am the first President in history to have a majority of Europeans (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and security.

I am supporting development of a nuclear "Tactical Bunker Buster," a WMD. I have so far failed to fulfill my pledge to bring Osama Bin Laden [sic] to justice.

RECORDS AND REFERENCES

All records of my tenure as governor of Texas are now in my father's library, sealed and unavailable for public view.

All records of SEC investigations into my insider trading and my bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

All records or minutes from meetings that I, or my Vice-President, attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review. I am a member of the Republican Party.

_______________
Source unknown

Quiz

A. Hundreds of people are dying of AIDS and starvation in Africa on a daily basis.
B. Globally, thousands of political activists are being tortured and/or murdered in prisons.
C. A French player headbutts an Italian football player in Berlin.

Question: which one of these options will make it to the headline news?

Bernard Lewis Project revisited

‘If the order were to be given for an attack, the American combat troops now operating in Iran would be in position to mark the critical targets with laser beams, to insure bombing accuracy and to minimize civilian casualties. As of early winter, I was told by the government consultant with close ties to civilians in the Pentagon, the units were also working with minority groups in Iran, including the Azeri’s, in the north, the Baluchi's, in the southeast, and the Kurds, in the northeast. The troops “are studying the terrain, and giving away walking-around money to ethnic tribes, and recruiting scouts from local tribes and shepherds,” the consultant said. One goal is to get “eyes on the ground”—quoting a line from “Othello,” he said, “Give me the ocular proof.” The broader aim, the consultant said, is to “encourage ethnic tensions” and undermine the regime.’

This is a segment of an article in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh, a widely respected American journalist. Based on anonymous sources in the Pentagon, Hersh discusses the Bush administration’s plans to launch major air attacks on Iran and its covert operations within Iran’s borders to destabilize the country.

The US “encouragement of ethnic tensions” has been recently addressed by critics, including the Islamic Republic itself. Prior to the latest presidential elections in Iran, the province of Khuzestan was shocked by multiple bombings, which led to considerable civilian casualties. Many blamed the Arab separatists who are becoming growingly active in this region. One influential theory says that these separatist groups receive support from the US and Great Britain.

More recently, the Azerbaijan province has been the stage of public protests, and clashes with government forces. The background of the unrest was the publication of a cartoon in a national newspaper, which was considered as disrespectful towards the Azeri minority. It is by no mean surprising that people of Azerbaijan take action to protect and emphasis their (ethnic) identity. The interesting fact is, however, the timing and scale of the reactions, which may suggest that there is, in fact, more at stake that only a shattered ethnic pride. Could it be possible that a cartoon, picturing a cockroach speaking Azeri, would create massive protests a few years ago, prior to the Iran-US crisis on nuclear technology?

The stimulation of ethnic unrest is (unfortunately) not a new idea. Specifically in case of Iran, the current US plans seem to resemble a much older agenda, which is known as the “Bernard Lewis Project” . Bernard Lewis is one of the most influential scholars in the study of Islam and Middle East, whose views and expertise has been widely represented in public and political domain(1). From a scientific perspective, his views on Islam and Middle East, and their relation with the West can be considered as extremely orientalistic.

The Bernard Lewis Project was first presented in 1979. The core proposal of this project is to divide countries in the Middle East along ethnic and regional lines into smaller, rival states in order to weaken the power of existing governments. According to Lewis the West should provoke rebellion for national autonomy by certain minority groups that will, eventually, lead to the fragmentation of powerful states. In case of Iran, he formally proposed to target the Arabs of Khuzestan (the Al-Ahvaz Project), the Azeri’s (the Greater Azerbaijan Project), the Kurds (the Greater Kurdistan Project) and the Baluchi’s (the Pakhtunistan Project).

Now more than 25 years later, Iran is still too big for the region. This is especially problematic, as the country is perceived as a hostile state by the US. Undoubtably, Iran is a true (potential) threat to the US interests in the Middle East. Given the neoconservative agenda of the current US administration, it is not surprising that parts of Lewis’s proposition have been reconsidered in the context of recent developments, and already initiated in practice.

Moreover, the current situation in neighboring Iraq, where the country balances on the edge of a civil war, can facilitate further ethnic tensions in Iran, especially when an independent, self-governing Kurdistan emerges in Iraq. However, America’s first objective would be to target the oil producing Khuzestan region, as its separation will automatically paralyze the entire country, including the central government.

Apparently, the US aggressive policy towards Iran seems to be a component of the much broader “Project for the New American Century”, an old agenda that has also been revived by the neocons to ensure the American dominance as the world’s only superpower in the region.

------
(1) Dick Cheney remraked “I had the pleasure of first meeting Bernard [Lewis] more than 15 years ago, during my time as Secretary of Defense. It was not long after the dictator of Iraq had invaded Kuwait, and we brought in a large number of outside experts to speak about the history and the way forward in the Middle East. As you might imagine, I got a wide range of advice -- some of it very good and some of it terrible. No one offered sounder analysis or better insight than Bernard Lewis. He was an absolute standout, and I decided that day that this was a man I wanted to keep in touch with, and whose work I should follow carefully in the years ahead..... In this new century, his wisdom is sought daily by policymakers, diplomats, fellow academics, and the news media.” (1 may 2006). Read the entire speech here.

!

It was a nice day
I drank my last cup of sorrow
I'll miss its sweet taste....

Don't let Iran follow Iraq's destiny

STOP THE WAR BEFORE IT STARTS!

Millions of people in Iran are anxious and troubled, as Bush threatens to start a new war. The U.S. and her allies are following a path of escalation that notably resembles their preparations prior to the invasion of Iraq. "Weapons of mass destruction" are, however, replaced with "nuclear weapons". The true motives of this aggressive politics are neither concerns regarding "nuclear weapons" nor "democratization", but have to do with the greed for oil and hegemony in the region. Any threat of a military attack will give the Iranian regime the excuse to oppress the struggle for democracy. We support the struggle of Iranian people for freedom: change by the people for the people.

We oppose any form of military intervention against Iran.

* A military attack - also in the form of a “precision bombardment” – will result in thousands of civilian casualties. In Iraq, since the start of the war on March the 20th 2003, more than 100,000 people have been killed.

* Following the wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, a new attack on Iran will further destabilize the already unstable situation in the Middle East.

* Foreign interference and applying a divide and rule policy will lead to ethnic unrest. It results in a vicious circle of violence, insecurity, and ultimately a civil war.

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