This story in today's New York Times (see link below) on an upcoming trial of two former AIPAC officials gives a rare peek into that organization's role as conduit for information between the American and Israeli governments. Not only that, but it shows how American officials regularly discuss classified information with these lobbyists, and how these lobbyists use this classified information to influence the media of both countries.
While the story cites anxieties among some Jewish-American activists about accusations of "dual loyalty" that echo past histories of persecution in Europe, I have to say that if any lobbying organization for any other foreign country were to be so tight with government officials, it would have blown up years ago. This kind of schmoozing is completely normal for these "lobbyists" and for these officials who are supposedly working for the American people and its national interests. Can you imagine paid agents for the government of China or even France having such cozy relations with our officials? What is truly amazing to me is how such illegal and unethical canoodling could go on for so long without raising any eyebrows among the political establishment. The reason for such silence, of course, is that practically the entire political elite of both parties is in on the game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/washington/03aipac.html?pagewanted=1&ref=us
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