Start where Crabgrass started, an email newsletter, Lee Fang -
What might be a stub of the item is online,
https://www.leefang.com/p/pro-israel-lobby-groups-flood-legacy
There is mention online of a subscription wall. However, the online item appears to be largely in parallel to the email. The online item states:
"The United States joining a strike on Fordow and any other facilities that remain is a must at this point," tweeted FDD deputy director Andrea Stricker.
FDD
portrays itself as a nonprofit founded after September 11th, engaged in
advocacy for "strengthening U.S. national security and reducing or
eliminating threats posed by adversaries and enemies of the United
States and other free nations."
That description is misleading.
IRS documents reveal that FDD filed for nonprofit status
on April 24, 2001—months before 9/11. The group was originally named
"EMET," Hebrew for "truth," with the stated purpose of enhancing
"Israel's image in North America and the public's understanding of
issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations."
Brigadier
General (Res.) Sima Vaknin Gill, a former Israeli Air Force intelligence
officer who helped establish several pro-Israel lobbying efforts in the
U.S. during her tenure at Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs, has
identified FDD as a key asset. In a previous presentation on tracking
pro-Palestinian organizations in America through data-mining and other
form, Vaknin-Gill noted, "We have FDD. We have others working on this."
FDD
routinely lobbies Congress to escalate tensions on Iran and other
countries viewed as adversaries of Israel. Last year, Sen. Ted Cruz,
R-Tex., led a Senate letter
to the Biden administration demanding increased sanctions on Iranian
banks. Metadata from the document shows that the author of the Cruz
letter was Nick Stewart, FDD’s Senior Director of Government Relations,
who is responsible to managing congressional relations and other
lobbying efforts.
Meanwhile,
FDD routinely partners with the Israeli government officials to
coordinate legal strategies for curbing pro-Palestinian activism in the
United States. In 2019, for instance FDD legal expert Orde Kittrie was
listed on a government panel hosted in Israel hosted by government
officials on combating nonviolent economic protests of Israel’s human
rights abuses in the West Bank.
FDD operates within
a larger ecosystem of pro-Israel advocacy. Dozens of think tanks, Super
PACs, institutes, and lobbying organizations work to advance Israeli
government positions in American politics.
Ted Cruz is a mention unpinning the bullshit meter for sure. Wanting to know more, web search was next trtied. An interesting link, https://www.guidestar.org/profile/13-4174402 - notes:
FDD was founded shortly after 9/11 by a group of visionary
philanthropists and policymakers to support the defense of democratic
societies under assault by terrorism and militant Islamism. Our
Leadership Council of Distinguished Advisors includes former FBI
Director Louis J. Freeh, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former
National Security Advisor Robert "Bud" McFarlane, former Ambassador Max
Kampelman, Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and former CIA Director R. James
Woolsey.
Those affiliated with FDD come from many backgrounds and political perspectives, but all believe:
- No one should be denied basic human rights, including minority rights, women's rights, and religious freedom.
- Free and democratic nations have a right to defend themselves and an obligation to defend one another.
-
Terrorism, the deliberate use of violence against citizens to achieve
political objectives, is always wrong and must never be condoned.
An
activist think tank with a solid track record of transforming ideas
into actions that get results, FDD uniquely combines policy research,
counterterrorism and democracy education, strategic communications, and
investigative journalism.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies
focuses its efforts where opinions are formed and, ultimately, where the
war of ideas will be won or lost: in the media, on college campuses, in
the courthouse, and in the policy community, both at home and abroad.
A neocon nest for certain, the Bush warmonger crowd that gut us mired into Iraq regime change. A stench upon the entirte operation settles and will not disperse.
The operation has a Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_for_Defense_of_Democracies
ProPublica gives financial info showing the operation is well funded at multi-million dollar levels.
https://www.fdd.org/team/fdd-team/ shows a lot of folks, mostly no-names, and not the power NEOCONS who founded the effort. There is a propaganda item:
https://www.fdd.org/issue/israel-at-war/
From back in 2015, Slate had a focus on the then effort to kill the Obama-Iran deal:
https://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2015/08/foundation_for_the_defense_of_democracies_inside_the_small_pro_israel_think.html
In short, as trustworthy as a cobra. Don't go near, don't be gulled.
Let Israel fight its own hostilities toward its neighbors, and commit ethnic clensing in Gaza by itself, not as a U.S. thing, but their war mongering for their own reasons and benefit, with the rest of the world watching and judging. But, that said, it looks as if Trump is getting suckered, or is already gung-ho onboard and moving that way as these sentences are being written.
Enough.
____________UPDATE_____________
Here, https://www.fdd.org/team/nsn/, by dint of sheer numbers, is a fright roster, for certain. WTF are all these dudes and ladies doing, as a 501{c}(3) and not as a viper nest paying taxes at least?
_________FURTHER UPDATE__________
Read the entire linked Lee Fang authored item, it describes media bias too.
_________FURTHER UPDATE__________
Guardian reports Congressional dithering while Trump is telling Iran "Unconditional Surrender." The headlining suggests something bigger than the few voices saying the U.S. going to war is a Congressional decision, not one for the Executive branch to alone decide. It looks weak, and Iran can take no comfort in it happening as it is. Trump appears attuned to the Israeli propaganda effort, or leaning that way against Gabbard's saying Iran is not on the verge of nuclear weaponry. In that context, how many nuclear warheads does Israel hold, when the question is Israel against Iran? Likely enough that if used Iran would be an ongoing glowing cinder of radioactive waste making Fukushima or Chernobyl look tame.
Israel holds that power. So we wait to see. Meanwhile, what mischief is being done to us, the people, by the Republicans and that Big Beautiful Bill to fuck we the people? As we are being told, "Hey, look over there!!!"? There's been the "Hands Off" and the "No Kings" rallies so far. The next should be, "End The Bullshit." That one would get record turnout.
A "Tax The Rich" rally would be a big drawing card too, but Indivisible has yet to go there. Beyond that, this sabre rattling, it's going on now, so what did JD tell the Murdochs in Montana given this Israel - Iran development, and FOX running with the FDD stories? We proles can only guess. JD won't tell us. Are the Iranians reduced to eating cats and dogs? Lie to me please, JD.
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