Freeman's withdrawal "is terrible news for anyone who had hoped that the Obama Administration stands tough-minded, rational, probing, and, yes, brutally honest about the life threatening challenges out there," wrote veteran Washington observer Chris Nelson in his eponymous Nelson Report. "If it turns out the White House pulled the plug on Freeman because of political pressure...shame on it. If it turns out Blair didn't have the guts to stick with his guy...shame on him. If it turns out Freeman just couldn't stomach any more lies from Capitol Hill and the established media, not to mention the blogs, shame on us all."
"Hillary [Clinton] is unleashed, ... [Jeffrey] Feltman has been in Damascus and Avigdor [Lieberman] is about to become" Israeli foreign minister, observed one U.S. intelligence veteran of the region. "I would say that some ugly things are about to happen, and Chas was just the first."
In the Cable, here
"Schumer didn't need anyone to tell him" Freeman was problematic, said one former official at a pro-Israel group. "He's been in the business a long time, and he’s got good staff. But that doesn't mean they didn't call AIPAC for research material." (An Aipac official told the New York Times that the group "had not taken a formal position on Mr. Freeman’s selection and had not lobbied Congress members to oppose it.") "Freeman’s resignation leaves big unanswered questions," the former lobby group official continued. "Was the White House blindsided with this appointment because Blair never cleared the choice of his old friend or gave Team Obama a chance to vet him? The result is Blair handed a big gift to the administration’s enemies."
No comments:
Post a Comment