Flak Flies When One Brings in the Elephant

Speaking of Israel
Ray McGovern

I had two hours Friday evening on talk radio (KGO AM, Bay Area) to make some comments about what one might expect from Israel in reaction to the uprising in Cairo and the likely spread of unrest to Jordan and other countries. I think this is one $64 question.

Israel is already the big loser here (and I mean BIG). The Israelis have seldom been so isolated, having forfeited their important friendship with the Turks; having had to look on as Hezbollah has become even more powerful in Lebanon; having watched a very spooked King next door in Jordan; and having witnessed the unceremonious exit of Mubarak, who for three decades turned his back on the Palestinians and acquiesced in Israeli regional hegemony. Adding to the misery, this time the revolution WAS televised!

It is hard to gauge precisely what the Israelis might be capable of doing. But sitting around passively and watching events unfold is not my idea of how Tel Aviv is likely to behave, given the very high stakes. And thoughtful Washington officials, if any, might wish to be alert.

Rarely is there time on radio (much less TV) to articulate key points and actually to conduct candid conversations with those who call in. That happened on Friday. You will not believe some of the callers!

There are likely to be casualties. I hope my interviewer did not need her job, and that the listeners who threatened her and her three children will not be able to make good on their threats. She has described the situation as “pretty intense.”

Also, wanted all you War-Is-a-Lie folks to know that I have never felt better; last week’s CT scan shows no recurrence of the lymphoma; I’m in high spirits (and I don’t mean just the liter of Jameson 12-year-old I brought back from Shannon). This just by way of saying I do not intend to commit suicide anytime soon — ever, actually. I do take walks in nearby parks, though, so if I end up like David Kelly, please look into it.

I am trying to get a tape of the KGO two-hour segments but not sure I will succeed. Meanwhile, for those who may be interested, one can listen by following these instructions, which worked for me. Each hour can be downloaded from the website: kgoradio.com. Go to the pod cast section and it will say "hourly archives". Choose Friday and each hour to download — 7:00 to 8:00 PM; and 8:00 to 9:00 PM (Pacific Time). They will only be there for one week and then will be replaced by the following Friday's program.

The two hours, especially with the reaction and questions from the call-ins, are, as instructive as they are rare. (Otherwise I would not indulge in this shameless self-promotion.) It is a pain listening to the commercials, but they kept letting me come back when they were finished. Perhaps one can find a way to fast forward through the commercials.

Alternatively, the downloads may also prove a good remedy for insomnia. I plan to write something more substantive on all this. Thus far, very few have dared to talk about the big elephant still in the room now that the Egyptian uprising has succeeded.