Chas Blames The Jews

The nominee for the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn himself for consideration.  Chas Freeman blamed the “Israel Lobby” for difficulties with his nomination.

From Jake Tapper at ABC News:

“Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced today that Ambassador Charles W. Freeman Jr. has requested that his selection to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council not proceed.  Director Blair accepted Ambassador Freeman’s decision with regret.”

Here are excerpts from Chas Freeman’s statement:

I have concluded that the barrage of libelous distortions of my record would not cease upon my entry into office.  The effort to smear me and to destroy my credibility would instead continue.  I do not believe the National Intelligence Council could function effectively while its chair was under constant attack by unscrupulous people with a passionate attachment to the views of a political faction in a foreign country.  I agreed to chair the NIC to strengthen it and protect it against politicization, not to introduce it to efforts by a special interest group to assert control over it through a protracted political campaign…

The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful  lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East.  The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth.  The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors…

I retain my respect and confidence in President Obama…  Like all patriotic Americans, I continue to pray that our president can successfully lead us in surmounting them.

The Washington Times has the backstory – Foreign ties of nominee questioned.

Here are excerpts from the letter signed by ALL of the Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee sent to Director Blair protesting the selection of Chas Freeman (he was appointed anyway):

…in light of the need for any NIC Chairman to have unquestioned objectivity and an ability to convey the Intelligence Community’s judgments in a measured and non-provocative manner — are Mr. Freeman’s highly controversial statements about China and Israel.

This must be the ‘Smart Diplomacy’ Obama promised…