The National Intelligence Estimate, Annapolis, and the Mideast Strategic-Consensus Fantasy; Clifford

FEATURED ARTICLE

The Mideast Strategic-Consensus Fantasy
By Leon Hadar

Despite the pending release of an intelligence report that would paint a much less menacing Iran,the United States used the Annapolis talks to push an old and discredited idea: that a perceived commonthreat—Shiite Iran—could bring together Arabs and Jews under an American umbrella and help create theconditions for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. The staying power of this strategic fantasy, sharedby the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, attests to the influence of pro-Likud neoconservativeideologues on these two conservative Republican presidents. Readfull story.

SEE ALSO:

The NIE Bombshell
By Gareth Porter

The new national intelligence estimate on Iran throws into turmoil the campaign by the Bush administrationto take aggressive action against Iran. It also validates European arguments on the efficacy of negotiationsand the power of diplomacy. Read full story.

FEATURED PROFILES

Clifford May
After the release of the new intelligence estimate discounting Iran’s nuclear weapons program, May,head of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, was one of the first to try to discredit it.

David Steinmann
A New York-based investment banker and chairman of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs,Steinmann is a longtime supporter of hardline pro-Israel policies who has served in leading roles forneoconservative organizations.

Foundation for Democracy in Iran
FDI, founded with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy, serves as a vehicle for itshead, Kenneth Timmerman, to promote his anti-Tehran views.

Coalition for Democracy in Iran
The now-defunct coalition, founded in 2002 by the former head of the American Israel Public AffairsCommittee, helped spearhead efforts to turn attention to Iran after the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Norman Hascoe
Hascoe, the former head of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, a powerful Likudnikorganization based in Washington, passed away in late October.

ALSO NEW ON RIGHT WEB

Annapolis: Aimed at Iran?
By Khody Akhavi

The Annapolis talks may have been aimed at convincing Mideast states that their most dangerous threatcomes from the ascendance of Iran and its brand of Islamic radicalism. Readfull story.

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