Grant Smith

A single common theme emerges from most public discussions of U.S. foreign policy. No matter how widespread the carnage, devastating the financial impact or enormous the opportunity cost of war – the United States is always presumed to have meant well. US foreign policies are designed as much to improve the well-being of foreigners as … Continue reading “34% of Americans Believe US Elites Exploited 9/11 for Gain”

The American public and think tank analysts are not supposed to know precisely how billions in taxpayer dollars flowing into the intelligence community are spent. Even the best plead ignorance. Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists Project on Government Secrecy commenting on huge budget increases told the Washington Examiner, "What exactly that signifies, … Continue reading “Israel and the Trillion-Dollar 2005-2018 US Intelligence Budget”

Most Americans would place limitations on U.S. aid to Israel under laws triggered by its nuclear weapons program. When told the CIA believed Israel has nuclear weapons, 54.8% of Americans agreed that Arms Export Control Act limitations to the non-signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) should apply. Question: Arms Export Control … Continue reading “Americans Would Limit Aid to Nuclear Israel”

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was ordered to register as an Israeli foreign agent on November 21, 1962 when it was part of the American Zionist Council. AIPAC has never complied with the order, and the Department of Justice has never enforced it. AIPAC’s associated think tank, the Washington Institute for Near East … Continue reading “Treasury Sanctions Foreigners for Israel”

Governmental lying by omission involves intentionally leaving out important facts to foster broad popular misconceptions. In 2012 the Obama administration promulgated a gag order in the form of a secrecy classification guideline – WNP-136 (PDF) – banning all federal agency employees and contractors from discussing, writing about, or releasing government information about Israel’s nuclear weapons … Continue reading “Can the US Keep Lying About Israel’s Nukes?”

The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board VIAB has one key difference with scores of privately funded state chambers of commerce created to foster closer economic integration between the United States and Israel while supporting the Israeli government’s policy agenda. Originally created by an uncodified act in 2001, VIAB has been funded by Commonwealth of Virginia taxpayers. Its … Continue reading “Meet VIAB: Virginia’s Taxpayer-Funded Israel Lobby”

The New Yorker staff writer Adam Entous revealed on June 18 that four sitting U.S. presidents beginning with Bill Clinton signed secret letters agreeing never to publicly discuss Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal. According to Entous, President Trump’s aides felt "blindsided" by Israeli ambassador Ron Dermer’s urgent demand to sign a fourth letter. Only a small … Continue reading “Four Presidents Conspired To Give $100 Billion to Israel”

Most Americans would oppose any Trump Administration support for an International Criminal Court investigation into Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinian protesters on May 14. This is because they either never heard about the massacre or received slanted coverage. Thousands of Palestinian protesters in Gaza gathered in May near a "no-go" zone along an … Continue reading “Americans Oppose Investigating the Gaza Massacre”

An Israeli intelligence entity called "Black Cube" targeted Obama administration officials such as former foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes and outside experts, such as the National Iranian American Council’s Trita Parsi, that advocated for passage of the JCPOA known as the "Iran nuclear deal." Though most media reports reference Black Cube’s self-designation as a "private … Continue reading “Israel Uses Intelligence Cutouts To Target the US”

Pollster Gallup has claimed since the year 2001 that the majority of Americans (averaging 59% between 2001-2018) hold much greater sympathy for Israelis than for Palestinians (averaging 17%) “in the Middle East situation.” Gallup releases its yearly results with titillating headlines, such as “Americans Remain Staunchly in Israel’s Corner” (2018 poll) and "Israel Maintains Positive … Continue reading “Why Gallup Overstates American Sympathy for Israel”