US intel head focus of pro-Israel smear campaign

The newly appointed head of the National Intelligence Council has come under fire from both sides of the congressional aisle by Democrats and Republicans concerned by the former ambassador’s views on Israel and alleged “ties” to Saudi Arabia.

The political firestorm over Charles “Chas” Freeman’s appointment to the No. 2 intelligence post in the nation erupted this week as several members of congress sent letters requesting an investigation into his "relationship" with Saudi Arabia and criticizing his past statements on Israel and China.

Republican Peter Hoekestra, former chair of the House Intelligence committee, called on President Barack Obama to withdraw Freeman’s appointment in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Ten other members of congress, including the two highest-ranking Republicans in the House of Representatives and the top recipient of pro-Israeli political action committee donations, reiterated the demand in a letter to the inspector general of the Defense Intelligence Council Tuesday.

Pro-Israel groups have seized on critical statements Freeman made about Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories and Lebanon as well as contributions the think-tank received from Saudi Arabia.

Top intel job

The appointment was made by DNI and does not require senate confirmation, a White house spokesman told AlArabiya.net, adding that “DNI was handling comments on Freeman on the appointment process.” Another spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Tuesday that he had “not read” reports about the controversy.

The DNI refused to comment on the controversy other than to reiterate that “DNI chose Chas Freeman for his qualifications” and refer to the press release on its website. “The inspector general is reviewing those letters he received,” DNI spokesperson Ross Feinstein told AlArabiya.net, referring to the congressional letters.

The inspector general is reviewing those letters he received

Ross Feinstein, DNI spokesperson

As chairman Freeman, president of the Washington-based think tank the Middle East Policy Council and former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, would oversee the production of National Intelligence Estimates and prioritization in the intelligence community. The chairman is also charged with “broaden(ing) the Intelligence Community’s perspective” according to the memo from the Director of National Intelligence announcing his appointment.

In a statement following Freeman’s appointment, DNI Director Denis Blair said the country was “fortunate” Freeman had returned to public service and called him “a distinguished public servant who brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in defense, diplomacy and intelligence that are absolutely critical to understanding today’s threats and how to address them.”

Right wing campaign

But former America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) staffer Steve Rosen, currently facing charges of spying for the Israeli government, has led a campaign to denounce Freeman, accusing him of “old-line Arabism” and “extremely close relationship to Saudi Arabia.”

Pro-Israeli politicos and right-wing publications have been at the forefront of the anti-Freeman campaign, which his defenders say is politically motivated and hypocritical since other organization that have received donations from foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, have not come under similar scrutiny.

Analysts have pointed out that such criticism of foreign funding is disingenuous given that think-tanks and educational institutions routinely receive donations from foreign governments, and several Middle East think-tanks in Washington with close ties to the Israeli lobby likely receive money from Israel and its representatives, but are not required to disclose where contributions come from.

“Think-tanks don’t normally broadcast in any way who their donors are, so unless they announce they are receiving a large foreign grant it’s very difficult to know who’s funding anything,” Grant Smith, director of the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy (IRmep), told AlArabiya.net.

Strident defenders

Several members of the national security community and Middle East experts have come out in defense of Freeman, noting his long record of public service and vast experience in the Middle East, China and intelligence.

One expert who came to his defense was the Director of Policy Analysis for the non-partisan Israel Policy Forum, M.J. Rosenberg, who said he was “sick and tired of good people being kept out of government jobs because they are perceived as critics of Israeli policies” in a blog post.

“[I]f Freeman was pro-settlement and pro-Likud, and if he was a major donor to AIPAC and Israeli institutions, if he had a billion dollars worth of investments in Israel, and was unsympathetic to human rights in China to boot, would any of these critics have opposed his appointment?” Rosenberg asked on his blog. His answer to his own rhetorical questions was no.

Obama has called for improving American engagement with the Arab and Muslim world and improve the U.S. image, which survey after survey shows has suffered because of perceived imbalance in its policy toward Israel.

If Freeman was pro-settlement and pro-Likud, and if he was a major donor to AIPAC and Israeli institutions, if he had a billion dollars worth of investments in Israel, and was unsympathetic to human rights in China to boot, would any of these critics have opposed his appointment

M.P. Rosenberg, Israel Policy Forum

As Stephen Walt, author of the controversial book The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, wrote on his blog for Foreign Policy magazine that the smear campaign was organized by critics who want to apply a “litmus test” to all public servants: “thou shalt not criticize Israeli policy nor question America’s ‘special relationship’ with Israel” regardless of whether such “unconditional support” is detrimental to the U.S. and Israel.

Similarly Pat Lang, a former senior Middle East analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency, wrote on his blog that Freeman’s attackers “seek to eliminate from public life all those whom they think are not completely in control of ‘the lobby’.”

Freeman has worked with more than100 foreign governments in the Middle East, East and South Asia, Africa, Latin America, and both Western and Eastern Europe. He also served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, U.S., Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Deputy Chief of Mission, Chargé d'Affaires in Bangkok and Beijing, and Director of Chinese Affairs at U.S. State Department.

Thou shalt not criticize Israeli policy nor question America’s ‘special relationship’ with Israel

Stephen Walt