Freeman Gets The Freeway

If you have any questions about who is running Obama's Middle East policy, the answer came down this afternoon as National Intelligence czar Dennis Blair withdrew Chas Freeman's nomination as chair of the President's National Intelligence Council.

Charles W. Freeman Jr. asked today that his name be withdrawn as chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced.

The withdrawal came hours after Blair gave a spirited defense of the outspoken former ambassador to a dubious senator, and a day after all seven Republican members of the Senate intelligence committee criticized the appointment over his views on Israel and his past relationships with Saudi and Chinese interests.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) questioned Blair about the appointment today when the intelligence chief came before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lieberman cited Freeman's past associations and statements which, the senator said, "appear either inclined to lean against Israel or too much in favor of China."

The National Intelligence Council oversees production of national intelligence estimates and shorter assessments on specific issues, tapping experts from among the 16 intelligence agencies. The chairman's position does not require Senate confirmation.

The answer to who controls Obama's Middle East policy is simple: Israel.

Israel didn't like Freeman. Ergo, Freeman was forced to withdraw. Game, set, match, Tel Aviv. That's all you need to know about Obama's "change" as far as the Middle East goes: we're still Israel's vassal state.

[UPDATE] Double G has more:

Does anyone doubt that it's far more permissible in American political culture to criticize actions of the American government than it is the actions of the Israeli Government? Isn't that rather odd, and quite self-evidently destructive?

And thus, nothing has truly changed. The depressing, maddening thing is the number of people on both sides of the aisle who are actually taking credit for Freeman's defeat. Both Democrats and Republicans are in fact crowing about how they stopped Chas Freeman, as if he was the most despised man in the United States.

But that's the power of Israel in the US. You cross them, you're done in Washington.