Council for the National Interest - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Council for the National Interest ("CNI") is a 501(c) organization in the United States advocating a "new direction for U.S. Middle East policy." With its sister organization the Council for the National Interest Foundation ("CNIF") it works to educate about and promote what it describes as "even handed policies by the U.S. government". Founded in 1989 by former Congressmen Paul Findley

Paul Findley

Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society...

(R-IL) and Pete McCloskey

Pete McCloskey

Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. is a former Republican politician from the U.S. state of California who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. He ran on an anti-war platform for the Republican nomination for President in 1972 but was defeated by incumbent President...

(R-CA), the Council describes itself as "the only organization of its kind striving against tremendous odds to reverse the U.S. government's one-sided, one-way Middle East policies." CNI has been especially critical of the state of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

and lobby groups that support it

Israel lobby in the United States

The Israel lobby is a term used to describe the diverse coalition of those who, as individuals and as groups, seek and have sought to influence the foreign policy of the United States in support of Zionism, Israel or the specific policies of its government...

, like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee

American Israel Public Affairs Committee

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States...

("AIPAC"). The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...

wrote in 2007 that CNI "even bills itself as the anti-AIPAC." It is especially critical of what it alleges is Israel's misuse of U.S. taxpayer's money to fund activities in violation of international law, monitoring the use of U.S. taxpayer funds by Israel in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

and in Gaza

Gaza

Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

.

Ambassador (ret.) Robert V. Keeley

Robert V. Keeley

Ambassador Robert Vossler Keeley had a 34-year career in the Foreign Service of the United States, from 1956 to 1989. He served three times as Ambassador: to Greece , Zimbabwe , and Mauritius...

is CNI's chair and former United States Ambassador David Newton is its vice chair. Alison Weir

If Americans Knew

If Americans Knew is a nonprofit organization that focuses on the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Foreign policy of the United States regarding the Middle East, offering analysis of American media coverage of these issues. Its mission, according to the group's website, is to provide "what every...

is the organization's president and former Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

officer Philip Giraldi

Philip Giraldi

Philip Giraldi is a former counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and a columnist and television commentator who is the Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a group that advocates for more even handed...

is Executive Director.

Mission and goals

The Council describes its mission as "to encourage and promote a U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East that is consistent with American values, protects our national interests, and contributes to a just solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as to restore a political environment in America in which voters and their elected officials are free from the undue influence and pressure of foreign countries, namely Israel."

CNI lists its goals as: diplomacy to resolve Middle East issues; elimination of unaudited aid to foreign nations; normalized relations between Israel and Middle Eastern states and regional organizations like the Arab League; U.S. recognition of an independent state of Palestine; total withdrawal of Israel from all occupied territory Palestinian and Syrian territory (the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights); a shared Jerusalem as capital of the two states of Israel and Palestine; an end to all acts of aggression, provocation, and retaliation by both sides; a political atmosphere in which neither media, the American electorate or elected officials are afraid to openly discuss issues.

Position statements

CNI issues position statements, articles and recommendations on Middle East related issues and is often quoted in mainstream and Middle East media. In 1988 CNI President Eugene Bird wrote about Israel ignoring United States State Department complaints about detention and possible torture of U.S. citizens. In early 2002 Eugene Bird criticized then-United States President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

for supporting Ariel Sharon’s increased land grabs and defacto conquest of the West Bank. In 2003 CNI called for the Senate to reject Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the founder and director of the Middle East Forum and its Campus Watch project, and editor of its Middle East Quarterly journal...

as a trustee of the United States Institute of Peace

United States Institute of Peace

The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress as a non-partisan, federal institution that works to prevent or end violent conflict around the world...

, charging he had “gone out of his way to say insulting things to Arabs, Palestinians, Muslim Americans, Black Muslims, Muslims and Islam.” In 2005 a representative criticized a World Bank

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...

’s proposed plan to give Palestinians money to enhance check points, noting that if those checkpoints were in the occupied territories it was against international law. After the U.S. Congress gave Israel a vote of confidence during it’s 2006 bombing of Lebanon, Eugene Bird said: “This is the usual problem with any resolution that talks about Israel — there are a lot of closet naysayer (in Congress), but they don’t want to be a target of the lobby of Israel.” In October 2006 CNI published a piece on the negative effect of Christian Zionists on U.S. foreign policy, and held a forum on the topic.

During the 2009 Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip CNI issued a statement comparing the attacks to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre

Sharpeville massacre

The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal . After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69...

where the South African apartheid regime killed 69 protesters, leading eventually to sanctions against the regime. In April 2009 Eugene Bird declared on a talk radio show: “The Obama administration with regard to the re-supply of Israel, regardless of what she does, regardless of how she uses the weapons, is no different than the Bush administration.”

Draft legislation

In 2004 Congress passed the Syrian and Saudi "Accountability Acts" which CNI characterized as “unique Congressional forays into the executive branch's traditional authority over U.S. foreign affairs.” CNI sponsored a forum featuring CNI and other experts on the subject. CNI also commissioned a 2004 Zogby poll which found 56 per cent of Americans agreed that Congress should pass the CNI "Israel Accountability and Security Act of 2004." It called upon Israel to dismantle all existing settlements outside of the 1967 border, to halt construction of the so-called “Separation Wall,” to end home demolitions in the West Bank and Gaza, and to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and join a Middle East non-proliferation treaty, and to engage in "serious and unconditional" negotiations with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon. Noncompliance would result in US-imposed diplomatic, military and economic sanctions.

CNI currently promotes a Foreign Lobby Registration Act ("FLORA") to replace the current Foreign Agents Registration Act

Foreign Agents Registration Act

The Foreign Agents Registration Act is a United States law passed in 1938 requiring that agents representing the interests of foreign powers be properly identified to the American public. The act was passed in response to German propaganda in the lead-up to World War II...

("FARA") which does not apply to groups like AIPAC. It would require all lobbies working on behalf of foreign governments to disclose the sources and uses of their funds, and would end their tax-exempt status. CNI notes that a Zogby International

Zogby International

IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...

poll showed that more than 60 % of American voters believe such lobbies should be registered.

Joint initiatives

CNI representatives have signed on to joint initiatives, as Eugene Bird did to the 2004 letter by 60 former U.S. diplomats who distributed a letter critical of then-United States President George W. Bush

George W. Bush

's "endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral plan to reject the rights of three million Palestinians, to deny the right of refugees to return to their homeland, and to retain five large illegal settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank,” reversing “long-standing American policy in the Middle East." In February 2005 CNI joined other concerned organizations in a meeting with Department of State officials regarding Israeli mistreatment of Palestinian American prisoners and called for the release of some of the prisoners. In May 2005 CNI joined with more than a dozen groups to protest the annual AIPAC convention. In July 2006 CNI co-sponsored a protest of over 400 people at the Israeli Embassy during the 2006 Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah. In 2007 CNI joined 33 other groups calling for the U.S. government to obtain detailed site information on Israel's cluster bomb strikes in Lebanon during its 2006 attacks on that nation.

Polls

CNI has commissioned several polls. A 2003 a Zogby International

Zogby International

poll showed that while 56 percent of Americans strongly support or somewhat support a Palestinian state, 30 percent somewhat or strongly oppose a Palestinian state. Fourteen percent were not sure. A mid-2004 Zogby poll found that half of all likely American voters agreed that Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

presidential candidate John Kerry "should adopt an entirely new policy, different from the present administration, toward Israel." A 2006 Zogby poll on the Iraq war found that a nearly equal number of likely American voters (40 to 39 percent) agreed or disagreed with the proposition that "the work of the Israel lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran."

Public hearings

CNI conducts public hearings on Capitol Hill. Noteworthy events included a June 2004 event CNI co-sponsored with the Council on American-Islamic Relations

Council on American-Islamic Relations

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is America's largest Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization that deals with civil advocacy and promotes human rights...

a presentation on “The Muslim Vote in 2004" where independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....

complained that “Muslim Americans are only the latest religious and ethnic group to feel the brunt of political hysteria and abuse” and commented about Israeli leaders "The days when the chief Israeli puppeteer comes to the United States and meets with the puppet in the White House and then proceeds to Capitol Hill, where he meets with hundreds of other puppets, should be replaced." This led to a heated debate with the Anti-Defamation League

Anti-Defamation League

The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...

. Others include a 2006 hearing on "The Politics of Starvation: The Humanitarian Crisis in Palestine" and a 2008 hearing on the dangers of U.S.’ uncritical support for Israel featuring professor John Mearsheimer

John Mearsheimer

John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist. Known for his book on offensive realism, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, more recently Mearsheimer has attracted attention for co-authoring and publishing...

Since 2002 CNI has taken out occasional full-page ads in publications like the New York Times, Denver Post and Christian Science Monitor promoting its position. In 2004 AIPAC charged that a CNI ad in the Washington Times that criticized Israel for conducting espionage and covert operations against the United States, erecting an "apartheid wall" and building illegal settlements was an attempt to convince policymakers that AIPAC "is doing something wrong." In a 2006 New York Times advertisement CNI wrote "there is strong evidence that irrational concern for Israel by U.S. policymakers continues to be a prime motivation for our military adventures."

Fact finding tours

In Spring 2006 CNI members conducted a fact-finding tour of the Middle East region, meeting with heads of state and acting as international observers in the Palestinian election process. Three were former U.S. diplomats who met in Lebanon

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

with Hassan Nasrallah

Hassan Nasrallah

Hasan Nasrallah, became the third Secretary General of the Lebanese political and paramilitary organization Hezbollah after Israel assassinated the previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi, in 1992. Hezbollah in its entirety is considered a terrorist organization by The United States, the Netherlands,...

leader of Hezbollah. One was Edward Peck

Edward Peck

Edward L. Peck is a retired career United States diplomat who served thirty-two-years in the U.S. Foreign Service .-Early life and career:...

, a former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq and deputy director of the White House Task Force on Terrorism in the Reagan Administration.

In preparation for the Annapolis Conference

Annapolis Conference

-Attendees:U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice organized and hosted the conference. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and U.S. President George W. Bush attended the meeting...

six CNI representatives 2007 trip, including Ambassador Keeley, met in face-to-face talks with prime ministers, foreign ministers and non-government officials of Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. The 2008 trip included both “citizen diplomats” and retired diplomats who met with, among others, representatives of Hamas

Hamas

Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...

Controversy

On March 28, 2000, Pete McCloskey

Pete McCloskey

, the chairman of CNI at the time, gave the keynote address on the subject of the Anti-Defamation League

Anti-Defamation League

and free speech at a conference organized by the Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial

Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...

organization Institute for Historical Review

Institute for Historical Review

The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...

. When McCloskey ran in the 2006 Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

primary for congress, there was a public controversy over exactly what he said about The Holocaust

The Holocaust

The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

at the event. McCloskey was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle

thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

and the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

despite the controversy, but lost the nomination by a 2-1 margin.

According to a 2001 article in Salon.com

Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

Abdurahman Alamoudi, a member of the CNIF Board of Directors, said at a November 2000 rally against Israel in Lafayette Park, across from the White House: "'Hear that, Bill Clinton! We are all supporters of Hamas. I wish they add that I am also a supporter of Hizballah." In 2004, Alamoudi pled guilty to financial and conspiracy charges and was subsequently sentenced to 23 years in prison. Eugene Bird explained that at the time he joined CNI Alamoudi was a highly regarded Muslim spokesperson who worked with the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

. As soon as Alamoudi was convicted, CNI asked him to leave its board.

On May 4, 2004 Eugene Bird appeared on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

's ("CBC") National News and commented ""We know that the Israeli intelligence was operating in Baghdad after the war was over...The question should be: Were there any foreign interrogators among those that were recommending very, very bad treatment for the prisoners?" CBC issued a clarification that there was "no evidence for Bird's claims." Two month's later former Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

Janis Karpinski

Janis Leigh Karpinski is a central figure in the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal.Karpinski retired as a colonel in the US Army Reserve. She was demoted from Brigadier General in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib scandal for dereliction of duty, making a material misrepresentation to...

, who had been in charge of the Abu Graib prison, claimed that met an Israeli who worked as an interrogator at a secret intelligence centre in Baghdad. She also stated that no Israelis worked at Abu Graib itself. Israel subsequently denied her claims, stating that there was "no basis whatsoever to the reports."

External links

Official website
Council for the National Interest blog
Council for the National Interest on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Council for the National Interest YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

channel

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