The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is still one of the most powerful lobby organizations in the country, but fortunately, it is starting to lose its iron-clad grip on our policymakers. AIPAC lost the fight to stop Chuck Hagel from being confirmed as Secretary of Defense; it lost the push for the US military to attack Syria, and it is losing its effort to derail nuclear talks with Iran. In the old days, AIPAC bragged that it could, within 24 hours, get the signatures of 70 Senators on a napkin if it really wanted to. This year, AIPAC got stuck at 59 cosponsors for its S.1881 sanctions bill–not enough support to force Senator Harry Reid to bring the bill to the floor or to override a threatened presidential veto. Another sign of AIPAC’s waning influence is the fact that this year, at their March 2-4 Policy Conference in Washington DC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend but not President Obama or Vice President Joe Biden—both of whom have spoken in past years. But it’s certainly not time to sound the death knell. AIPAC still has a lot of muscle and will keep trying to flex it.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:33:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015