One very important, but generally overlooked, objective of the fiasco code named "Operation Iraqi Freedom", undertaken by Washington at the behest of Ariel Sharon, G.W. Bush's "good friend" in 2003, was to provide a distraction from Tel Aviv's ongoing occupation of Palestine and a diversion from the massacres routinely taking place there.

Currently, the Gaza Strip, the largest concentration camp in history, is under siege. (See BBC report below.) The Russian Jew, Ehud Olmert, is proving to be every bit a madman as his mentor, the Polish Jew,  Ariel Sharon, and maybe even a bigger war criminal, when you take into account recent events in Lebanon. It is open season on Palestinians and on anyone who tries to come to their aid. The EU stands by and winks at the carnage happening on its doorstep. Washington endorses it with silence.

This being an election year in America, you will not hear a murmur or any faint signal from "liberal" politicos in Washington to protest Israeli war crimes. It is the perfect time for yet another massacre in Palestine. True, no Washington politician, Left or Right, gives a damn about the Palestinians. Understood. But even if they did, few if any would dare to take on the "Israel Lobby" or alienate the Jewish vote with an election right around the corner. Tel Aviv knows that of course, and acts accordingly, which is to say, with complete impunity. This explains the timing of the onslaughts in Lebanon and Gaza.

As for the man in charge of overall United States policy, VP Dick Cheney, there should be little doubt that he and his "Middle East advisor", Tel Aviv operative David Wurmser, as well as Elliot Abrams, the "neocon's neocon" who directs Middle East policy at the National Security Council inside the White House, are all in favor of shooting as many Palestinians as possible, while they are still in power. It is part of the "war on terror" to keep America "safe"--or so they pretend. For them, it is a blood feud, pure and simple. The Jews against the Arabs. The Palestinians are "terrorists" because they are standing up to military occupation, against all odds.

Do the Democrats disagree with Likud lackey Dick Cheney and with his cabal of far-right Zionist ideologues in any significant way? Who knows what the Democrats actually think, if they think at all. Who cares? The Democrats supported Olmert's grotesque attacks on Lebanon just a few months ago and gave Olmert sixteen standing ovations when he spoke to a joint session of the U.S. Congress several months ago. The Democrats' deathly silence on the core issue of Palestine demonstrates that they are in de facto agreement with the Cheney/Bush foreign policy in the Middle East, a policy which is not just fixated upon Tel Aviv but which is actually being directed by Tel Aviv's agents in Washington.

When Democrats point out the obvious, that the Iraq war is nuts and a colossal failure, this does not constitute a change in U.S. policy; it is just a cheap observation. It is an observation which the Democrats make, because the general public cannot put two plus two together and connect the Iraq war with the Israel Lobby which mandated the Iraq war. Besides, when all is said and done, Iraq is a sideshow, a diversion from the real issue.

The true significance of the 2006 U.S. midterm elections taking place tomorrow is to see which career politician in Washington will get the better office space on Capital Hill. The big winners will be the furniture movers. The elections will not alter U.S. foreign policy, because both parties are in essential agreement on that policy. Do not be fooled, despite all the hoopla, posturing, and the around-the-clock news coverage. Republican or Democrat, there is only one political party, but with two faces. This party is in business to stay in power. With respect to the Middle East, it has sold out America a long time ago.

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BBC News || November 5th, 2006
Deaths mount in Gazan offensive

Three Palestinians have been killed in Gaza on the fifth day of Israel's offensive in the territory.  Palestinian officials said the deaths came in separate incidents - bringing the toll since Wednesday to nearly 50. Earlier, Israeli PM Ehud Olmert declined to say when the operation would end, but insisted Israel had no intention of reoccupying the Strip. [Comment: Gaza remains a prison and a free fire zone; talking about "reoccupying" it is beside the point.]

Israel says it is targeting militants but Palestinian officials accuse Israel of a "massacre". Israeli forces have made regular incursions into Gaza and the West Bank following the capture of an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid by Palestinian militants on 25 June.

'Necessary steps'

Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians, including two gunmen, on the fifth day of an operation which has killed nearly 50 people. Many are said to be militants.  On Saturday at least seven people, including a 12-year-old girl, died in air raids and clashes. Israeli officials say the offensive in northern Gaza is aimed at destroying militant infrastructure and stopping Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.

"We will take the steps necessary to significantly decrease this fire and to halt the terror activities," Mr Olmert said.  Despite the crackdown, a rocket hit the Israeli border town of Sderot, but no-one was hurt.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has called the operation a "massacre" and urged the UN Security Council to convene to discuss the issue.   At least 17 people died on Friday, including two women shot during the siege of a mosque in Beit Hanoun.

A PA employee told the BBC it was the worst Israeli incursion they had ever had into the town. Ibrahim al-Za'anin, 55, said they had been without electricity or water since Tuesday night, and no longer felt safe in their own homes. A senior UN official given Israeli permission to enter described the atmosphere as one of death, destruction and despair.