Haaretz reports today that Israel expects imminent visits from two Bush Administration eminences: Don Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales. It got me thinking what pearls of wisdom the two could impart from their stellar experience as Bush Administration officials. As for Rumsfeld:
During Olmert’s visit to the U.S. capital last month, the two agreed to work towards closer defense and security ties between the two countries, a relationship that suffered setbacks following the dispute over Israeli arms sales to China.
Rumsfeld’s visit to Israel is expected to indicate that relations between the two defense establishments are “business as usual.”
So what can Donnie Dark teach Israel? Israel unfortunately doesn’t need any advice how to get itself into a quagmire by conquering and occupying a foreign people against their will. They’ve already figured out how to do that quite well thank you.
As for Al’s visit:
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is also expected to visit Israel this week. Gonzales, whose post in the American government is equivalent to that of Justice Minister, is one of President George W. Bush’s closest advisors. He will give a lecture at Tel Aviv University on international law enforcement in the post-9/11 era.
Israel doesn’t need any lessons from Al in justifying torture and kidnapping of alleged terrorists as Israel already does this with aplomb. I don’t know that Al’s ever weighed in on the question of extrajudicial assassinations (which the U.S. carried out against al-Zarqawi and a U.S. citizen/Al Qaeda operative in Yemen). But he’d certainly find lively conversation on that score with his Israeli counterparts who can tell him how it’s done (or botched as the recent case may be). Al can certainly educate Israeli officials about how to co-opt Israeli telecom companies in order to interdict citizens’ phone records; and how to co-opt international financial agenices in order to interdict private banking data.
It could be “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Long live the “special relationship!”