John Byrne
The nation's most powerful pro-Israel lobbying group sent off-the-record emails to reporters in an apparent effort to derail President Barack Obama's choice to chair the National Intelligence Policy Council, despite saying they were not lobbying against the nominee.Charles "Chas" Freeman, Obama's intelligence council pick, withdrew after an acrimonious debate over his views on China, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Freeman was the US ambassador to the Saudi kingdom from 1989-1992. He previously made remarks suggesting a more friendlier take on the Chinese communist government.
But his views on Israel got the most airing, especially after he was attacked by a former chief lobbyist for the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee who is under indictment for espionage and will go to trial in May. Ex-AIPAC lobbying chief Steve Rosen told the Washington Post Wednesday that he had been in contact with journalists but not members of Congress.
AIPAC did not publicly lobby against Freeman's nomination. In response to a question about their lobbying work, spokesman Josh Block said the group
"took no position on this matter and did not lobby the Hill on it."
That may not be exactly true. In a story Thursday, veteran intelligence correspondent Walter Pincus revealed that Block had responded to reporters' questions about the group's views by sharing critical press clips about Freeman on background -- meaning that the material could not be attributed to the Israeli lobby group.
"Block responded to reporters' questions and provided critical material about Freeman, albeit always on background, meaning his comments could not be attributed to him, according to three journalists who spoke to him," Pincus wrote Thursday. "Asked about this yesterday, Block replied: 'As is the case with many, many issues every day, when there is general media interest in a subject, I often provide publicly available information to journalists on background.'"
Freeman sparked ire among some Israeli supporters because of his 2005 comments about what he called Israel's "high-handed and self-defeating policies" relating to the "occupation and settlement of Arab lands," which he called "inherently violent."
He also took criticism for his position on the Middle East Policy Council, where he wrote a letter thanking the Saudi king for donating to support the group's efforts. The group also had as a direct a consultant to the Bin Laden group, a wealthy construction conglomerate that provided the basis for Osama Bin Laden's original inheritance. Because of its tax status, the council is not obliged and has not released a list of donors.
Following his withdrawal, Freeman launched an all-out attack on what he called the "Israeli Lobby" in making his nomination to the post futile.
"The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views," he wrote, which he said results in "the inability of the American public to discuss, or the government to consider, any option for US policies in the Middle East opposed by the ruling faction in Israeli politics."
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