Pentagon senior adviser accused Pompeo and senior politicians of taking money and getting rich from âthe Israeli lobbyâ
A new senior adviser at the Pentagon repeatedly said the United Statesâ support for Israel was the result of âIsraeli lobbyâ money and accused prominent officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, of becoming âvery very rich,â from their support for Israel.
Retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, who was appointed as senior adviser to newly installed acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller this week, made the comments in two media appearances in 2012 and 2019.
âYou have to look at the people that donate to those individuals,â Macgregor said in a September 2019 interview when asked if then-national security adviser John Bolton and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wanted war with Iran. âMr. Bolton has become very, very rich and is in the position heâs in because of his unconditional support for the Israeli lobby. He is their man on the ground, in the White House.â
âThe same thing is largely true for Mr. Pompeo, he has aspirations to be president,â he added. âHe has his hands out for money from the Israeli lobby, the Saudis and others.â
An outspoken critic of American foreign policy and âendlessâ wars, Macgregor also said the Israel lobby has âenormous influenceâ on Congress and accused the lobby of wanting to instigate âmilitary strikesâ with Iran in a 2012 interview with the Russian-state media network RT.
âI think the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and itâs subordinate elements or affiliated elements that represent enormous quantities of money that over many years have cultivated an enormous influence in power in Congress,â he said. âI think youâve got a lot of people on the Hill who fall into two categories. One category that is interested in money and wants to be reelected, and they donât want to run the risk of the various lobbies that are pushing military action against Iran to contribute money to their opponents.â
Politicians in the past have been criticized by Jewish groups for linking support to Israel to money. Last year, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted that politiciansâ support for Israel is âall about the Benjamins.â Omar apologized for some of those comments, which the Anti-Defamation League said were âpromoting the ugly, anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews have an outsized influence over politics.â
Macgregor did not respond to requests for comment. The Department of Defense spokesperson referred CNN to a statement sent earlier this week confirming Macgregorâs appointment and that his âdecades of military experience will be used to assist in the continued implementation of the Presidentâs national security priorities.â
Bolton, through a spokesman, said, âI donât respond to anti-Semites.â The State Department declined to comment on behalf of Pompeo.
https://thedailycable.com/2020/11/13/pentagon-senior-adviser-accused-pompeo-and-senior-politicians-of-taking-money-and-getting-rich-from-the-israeli-lobby/