Israel is an inspiring country. Really. It is so inspiring that it inspires many to emulate it. Its airport security is inspiring. Its racial profiling police methods inspire cops of all nations. Its urban demolition warfare techniques are inspirational to the point that otherwise sober generals facing unruly masses from Faluja to Mogadishu tremble in ecstasy at the mere thought of emulating it.
But nothing about Israel inspires more than its geo-strategic position. Herzl's motto, to become "an outpost of civilization against barbarism", is the motto that unites and inspires all comprador elites from Colombia to Afghanistan. Fortunately, pulling an Israel is harder than it seems.
The latest casualty of this infatuation is Georgia's westernizing elite. for the last five years Mikheil Saakashvili led Georgia on a path of militarization in order to curry favor with the West. Saakashvili, one of the main figures of the CIA funded "Rose Revolution," sought to integrate the country on a platform of economic liberalization coupled with a highly militarized police state. Internationally, Saakashvili positioned Georgia to be a Western thorn in the Russian sphere, seeking membership of Nato and arm deals with the U.S. and Israel. An army of Jewish go-betweens, arm dealers, policy wonks and diplomats, immediately sprung ready to sweeten the road to servility with self-enriching deals. Here is how Ynet describes it:
Israel began selling arms to Georgia about seven years ago following an initiative by Georgian citizens who immigrated to Israel and became businesspeople...."They contacted defense industry officials and arms dealers and told them that Georgia had relatively large budgets and could be interested in purchasing Israeli weapons," says a source involved in arms exports. (Ynet, August 10, 2008)
Among this class is no less than Georgia's defense minister Davit Kezerashvili, a holder of an Israeli passport whose "perfect Hebrew" and background opened doors for the peddlers of Israel's military wares like Milo and Hirsch. Of course, the U.S. branch of this death merchants fraternity hasn't been dormant. The press noted Randy Scheunemann, a McCain adviser whose resume includes stints in a bevy of neeocon and arm-dealing fronts and who lobbied for Georgia in the U.S. But this isn't a matter of this or that person. Georgia has been a major recipient of U.S. aid, three quarters of a billion annually. It is buzzing with U.S. military contractors who train and equip Georgian troops for a pretty penny. U.S. cold-war bots discovered in Georgia a major strategic platform against Russia as soon as the Berlin Wall collapsed. And Georgia's rose smelling elites readily accepted that role as they tried to "pull an Israel" and become an outpost of "Western civilization" against Russia (and against their own Russian citizens).
In a pattern that should be alarming, Israel's "Jewish" politics is recreating a class of Jews that is lavishly paid for perform international pariah jobs for their masters. Instead of the medieval Jewish moneylender, Israel helps produce the Jewish arms dealer and war promoter as new emblems of the contemporary Jewish identity. Israeli politicians wouldn't mind. Making the world dangerous for Jews simply confirms their Zionist worldview. What is more unfortunate is that Jewish community organizations and leaders outside of Israel are not at all alarmed. Watching how they jump to justify Israel is like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
As for Georgia, it is another train wreck. And also a lesson to others. Every country that receives a lot of U.S. aid will pay for it dearly.
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