- General Merrill "Tony" McPeak, Senator Barack
Obama's military advisor and co-chair of his presidential campaign is a
longtime anti-Israeli critic who has slammed Israel harshly during his
career, according to an inquiry by conservative American media outlets.
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- McPeak, who served as the chief of staff o the US Air
Force before retiring in 1994, made headlines over the past week after
accusing former President Bill Clinton of McCarthyism. Yet as it turns
out, over the years he has criticized Israel for failing to withdraw to
the 1967 borders and charged American Jews were preventing American pressure
that would lead to a Mideast peace agreement.
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- The examination of McPeak's career, undertaken by conservative
magazine American Spectator among others, revealed that the general adopted
a harsh anti-Israeli line in interviews he submitted to and articles he
published. According to the magazine, beyond his affinity for alcohol,
which saw him detained for drunk driving a year ago, McPeak also appears
to take great pleasure in slamming Israel and pro-Israel Jews.
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- 'Large vote in favor of Israel'
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- In an interview with The Oregonion about five years ago,
McPeak argued that the influence exerted by American Jews is responsible
for the lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. According
to the general the problem was New York and Miami.
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- "We have a large vote here in favor of Israel. And
no politician wants to run against it," he said.
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- In the same interview, McPeak spoke of his personal experience
with Israel.
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- "I've spent a lot of time in Israel, worked at one
time very closely with the Israeli Air Force as a junior officer,"
he said, "but that's maybe the more cosmopolitan, liberal version
of the Israeli population."
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- McPeak also charged that Jews and Christian Zionists
manipulated American foreign policy in Iraq.
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- "Let's say that one of your abiding concerns is
the security of Israel as opposed to a purely American self-interest, then
it would make sense to build a dozen or so bases in Iraq," he said.
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- 'Disturbing canard'
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- Following the latest revelations, the Republican Jewish
Coalition (RJC) called on Obama to remove McPeak as his military advisor
and national campaign co-chairman.
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- "By choosing to have a military advisor and national
campaign co-chairman like General McPeak, serious questions and doubts
are once again being raised about Senator Obama's positions and judgment
on Middle East issues," said RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks.
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- "Rather than putting the blame where it belongs
- on the Palestinian leadership and their continued reliance on terror,
General McPeak finds it more convenient to blame American Jewry and their
perceived influence," said Brooks. "This is the same dangerous
and disturbing canard being promoted by the likes of Jimmy Carter and authors
Mearsheimer and Walt in their book, The Israel Lobby."
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- "Senator Obama continues to surround himself with
advisors holding troubling and disturbing anti-Israel bias," Brooks
said. "We call on Senator Obama to immediately remove General McPeak
from his campaign leadership role and as a key advisor."
- www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3523709,00.html
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