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THE MARRIAGE FROM HELL: JANE HARMAN AND THE WOODROW WILSON CENTER
By David Boyajian
HETQ
December 13, 2011
"Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in
horror at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
(WWC) is doing in his name."
I wrote that last year in two exposes: "The Selling of the WWC"[1]
and "The WWC Desecrates its Namesake's Legacy"[2]. They revealed that
the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center is violating its Congressional
mandate and is up to its neck in tainted corporate cash.
A leading Congressman, a Wilson family descendant, citizens' groups,
and many others agreed. One prominent journalist called the WWC
"a global joke."[3]
Several months ago, this Congressionally-created, multi-million dollar
think tank[4], funded partly by taxpayers, made another colossal
blunder. It hired[5] former eight-term Congresswoman Jane Harman
(D-CA)[6] to be its president, replacing[7] Lee Hamilton,[8] also a
former Congressman.
Harman, like Hamilton, is not only part of the good-old-boy (and girl)
network of which the WWC is so fond. Among her other baggage, charges
of illegal conduct in a spy scandal[9] involving AIPAC (American
Israel Public Affairs Committee) have shadowed Harman[10] for years.
Let's take a closer look at Harman and the Wilson Center to see why
they're the marriage from hell.
Harman's spy scandal
Two top AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman,[11] were
indicted on spy charges in 2005 for passing classified documents
to Israel.
Citing confidential sources, Time magazine[12], in 2006, and
Congressional Quarterly, two years ago, reported that the Feds had
wiretapped Cong. Jane Harman and a "suspected Israeli agent" agreeing
to this deal[13]: Harman would persuade the Justice Department to
reduce the charges against Rosen and Weissman; in exchange, AIPAC
and its influential supporters would persuade then-Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi to reappoint the unpopular Harman as top Democrat on
the House Intelligence Committee.
Harman apparently promised the "Israeli agent" to "waddle into"[14]
the AIPAC scandal "if you think it'll make a difference." Harman
ended the exchange with "this conversation doesn't exist."[15]
The Justice Department and CIA wanted to prosecute Harman. But Alberto
Gonzales,[16] President Bush's Attorney General, reportedly refused
because - ironically - he "needed Jane" to support the government's
ongoing warrantless wiretapping program.
Shockingly, charges[17] against Rosen and Weissman were dropped[18]
in 2009 because a judge put constraints on Federal prosecutors. Larry
Franklin, the Defense Department official who passed the classified
documents to the two AIPAC officials, wasn't so lucky. He pled guilty
[19] three years earlier and went to prison.
Harman has long denied[20] any wrongdoing. She has never, however,
given a full account of her conversations regarding Rosen and
Weissman. Full accounts, as we shall see, are not one of Harman's
virtues.
Harman's genocide flip-flop
While co-sponsoring Congressional resolution HR 106[21] on
the Armenian genocide[22] committed by Turkey, Cong. Harman went
behind the backs[23] of her constituents in October of 2007 by
asking then-Foreign Relations Chair Tom Lantos (D-CA) to bury the
resolution. Only after her constituents discovered this through
other sources did she admit[24] to it.
But the explanations for her flip-flop made little sense.[25] "This
is the wrong time" for the resolution, wrote Harman. But she couldn't
cite anything relevant in 2007 that had changed regarding Turkey,
Armenia, or the Middle East since she signed onto the resolution a
few years earlier.
Harman claimed that a genocide resolution would "embarrass or
isolate the Turkish leadership." This claim came suspiciously
soon after she met with Turkey's threatening Prime Minister, Recep
Erdogan. Apparently, recognizing a genocide requires an OK from the
perpetrating country's leader.
But Harman reached truly ridiculous heights by claiming- again, this
was in 2007 - that it was "obvious" that Turkey's "leadership" was
needed for "resolving the Israel-Palestine issue." Turkey had never,
of course, played a significant role in mediating between Israelis
and Palestinians. What really caused Harman's genocide flip-flop?
Jewish groups and Turkey
AIPAC was (and is) one of several major Jewish American organizations
that have colluded with Turkey to, among other things, defeat Armenian
genocide resolutions. Israel, Turkey, and Jewish groups formed their
menage-a-trois[26] in the 1990's.
Yola Johnston[27], Community Outreach Director for the Jewish Institute
for National Security Affairs, has admitted that AIPAC, the American
Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith, her own organization, and "the Jewish
lobby" have "quite actively supported Turkey in their efforts to
prevent the so-called Armenian genocide resolution from passing."
AIPAC, reported the Washington Times[28] last year, had "lit up the
phones" against the genocide resolution when "the Turks" asked a
"senior researcher" at AIPAC to do so. That "senior researcher" and
"architect of the Jewish community's support for Turkey" was none other
than AIPAC's notorious Keith Weissman. So the Harman-AIPAC-Weissman
threesome was at the center of not only a spy scandal but also a
genocide cover-up.
And there's more. Yet another scandal may have induced Harman's
genocide duplicity.
Anti-Defamation League scandal
Harman wrote her genocide flip-flop letter to Chairman Lantos just as
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)[29] was taking a beating in the U.S.
and internationally[30] for denying the Armenian genocide and helping
Turkey lobby against Armenian genocide recognition. Human rights
activists, principled Jews, and Armenian Americans had just months
earlier launched a campaign (see NoPlaceForDenial.com) that was to
result in more than a dozen Massachusetts cities' evicting[31] the
ADL's so-called "No Place for Hate" anti-bias program.
The Turkish government was furious that the embarrassing arrangement
among it, Jewish groups, and Israel was being splashed across the
headlines.[32]
Prime Minister Erdogan made a frantic call[33] to Israeli President
Peres, while Turkey's foreign minister reportedly warned the Israeli
ambassador that "our bilateral relations will suffer."[34]
Did Harman, who was certainly aware of this uproar, panic at the
prospect of a further deterioration in the already strained relations
between Israel and Turkey? Did she ask Lantos to kill the genocide
resolution because Turkey would blame Israel, AIPAC, the ADL, and
even Harman herself if the resolution succeeded?
Considering the timing, Harman's relationship to Israel and the
genocide-denying AIPAC, and the illogical explanations for her
flip-flop, it seems probable. Though the House Committee narrowing
passed the resolution, Harman had to be pleased that it did not make it
any further. Her appeasement of Turkey, however, proved to be in vain:
* Erdogan was soon calling Shimon Peres a mass murderer[35] (January
2009) for Israel's offensive against Gaza.
* Israel scolded and humiliated Turkey's ambassador[36](January 2010)
in response to Turkish criticism and an anti-Israeli TV show.[37] *
Israeli commandos shot nine Turks to death on a ship that had tried
to break the Gaza blockade [38] (May 2010).
* Erdogan has expelled the Israeli ambassador, cut defense ties with
Tel Aviv, and threatened[39] military retaliation[40] unless Israeli
apologizes and pays compensation for the flotilla killings.
But when, like Harman, one has few firm principles and has fooled
herself into believing that a country such as Turkey is a friend,
she inevitably winds up with yogurt on her face.
No self-respecting institution would have considered hiring anyone
with Harman's background. That may explain why the Wilson Center hired
her. It has little respect for its mission or the American people.
The Wilson Center flouts Congress
The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968[41] was crystal clear: The
WWC must commemorate Wilson's "ideals and concerns" and memorialize
"his accomplishments." Yet it has ignored large swaths of the Wilson
administration's record on the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia), Turkey, and the Middle East.
The WWC isn't just thumbing its nose at Congress and taxpayers. It
has closed its eyes to a wealth of political knowledge about a region
in which the U.S. has enormous interests. The Caucasus, for example,
is a major locus for producing and transporting oil and gas.[42] It's
also ground-zero in the new Cold War[43] between the U.S. and Russia,
particularly since the Russian-Georgian war[44] of 2008.
Donald Wilson Bush,[45] President of the Woodrow Wilson Legacy
Foundation and a Wilson family descendant, has rightly accused the
WWC of "violating [its] very own mission and purpose."
Wilson's Record
Wilson and the State Department's record on the region from the
WW 1 era is extensive. Though the U.S. did not formally declare
war against Turkey in WW1, Turkey was the main ally of Germany,
America's enemy. Wilson condemned[46], in the strongest terms,
Turkey's genocide of Armenians and was a fervent advocate[47] of
Armenian independence. By the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres[48] -
a product of the Paris Peace Conference in 1920 - the U.S. formally
delineated the borders of that part of Armenia and Kurdistan that
now lies within Turkey's eastern regions. Turkey later reneged on
the Treaty.
Yet, despite the clear stipulation of Congress, Wilson's record has
been almost totally ignored[49] by the WWC. Indeed, three years ago,
historian and legal scholar Ara Papian, a Canadian resident and former
Armenian Ambassador to Canada, applied for a WWC Fellowship to do
ground-breaking research[50] on the U.S. archival record regarding
Turkey and the Caucasus - a proposal the WWC should have jumped at.
Papian was rejected without explanation. Ironically, several months
ago Lee Hamilton told the American Historical Association[51] that
U.S. foreign policy officials need the views of "historians." Yet as
WWC president, he all but ignored the history of Wilson's Caucasus
policies.
Tainted corporate cash
The WWC has been corrupted by its gluttony[52] for corporate cash.
Case in point: it acknowledged that money was the main reason it
journeyed to Turkey in 2010 to honor a Turkish billionaire whose Dogus
Holding conglomerate[53] is a WWC donor, and to give a much-criticized
award to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Cong. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chair of the House Subcommittee on the
Middle East and South Asia, blasted[54] Lee Hamilton for honoring
Davutoglu. Ackerman cited Turkey's military occupation of Cyprus,
closure of the border with Armenia, and denial of the Armenian
genocide. Honoring Davutoglu was "absolutely inconsistent with the
mission of the WWC and the ideals that animated President Wilson's
administration and foreign policy."
The Wilson Center, added Donald Wilson Bush, had engaged in "Turkish
diplomatic appeasement." It had "sacrificed its legitimacy as a
'neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue.'"
"Why," asked Claudia Rosett[55], "should Congress keep fueling this
morally blank, misleading and venal exercise [the WWC] with millions
of American tax dollars?" Good question.
Part of why the WWC has all but ignored Wilson's record on Turkey
and the Caucasus is undoubtedly that many major donors (present and
past members of its elite "Wilson Alliance"[56]) have lobbied for, or
been members of trade organizations that have lobbied for, Turkey and
against the Armenian resolution. These include Alcoa, BAE Systems,
Bechtel, Boeing, Bombardier, Chevron, Coca Cola, Exxon-Mobil and
Honeywell. [57]
In fact, Harman's predecessor, Lee Hamilton, engaged in a clear
conflict of interest during his tenure by sitting on the board[58] of
BAE Systems, a defense giant which does lots of business with Turkey.
Last year a Federal judge slapped BAE's parent corporation with a
$400 million criminal fine for "deception, duplicity and knowing
violations of law... on an enormous scale."[59] Too bad the judge
didn't also look into the Wilson Center.
Hamilton also sat on the board[60] of the Albright Stonebridge Group,
a "global strategy firm" headed by former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
Hamilton's WWC bio, incredibly, was dead silent about his corporate
affiliations. This same Lee Hamilton co-chaired the official National
Commission[61] on the 9/11 attacks, whose report has been widely
criticized as incomplete and biased. Hamilton and Harman, you see,
can be counted on not to rock the corporate establishment's boat.
The WWC is rife with other questionable characters, including those
with deep ties to Turkey, such as former board member[62] and present
Wilson Council member Ignacio Sanchez[63], a lobbyist employed by DLA
Piper, which is a registered foreign agent[64] for Turkey. And former
"Wilson Public Policy Scholar"[65] Marc Grossman[66], ex-US ambassador
to Turkey and DLA Piper bigwig. "Coincidentally," Sanchez and Grossman
were both on the WWC Search Committee[67] that hired Harman.
Made for each other
If ever there was a marriage made in hell, therefore, Jane Harman
and the Wilson Center are it:
* The WWC receives millions in "donations" from the military-industrial
complex, which influences the Center's agenda and policies. Similarly,
Harman - a former Defense Department lawyer - has received large
campaign contributions[68] from defense and aerospace[69] firms'
Political Action Committees and employees[70], including those in El
Segundo, a key military-industrial center[71] located in her former
Congressional district.
"Coincidentally," major Wilson Center donors BAE Systems[72]
(Lee Hamilton's comrade-in-arms), Boeing[73], and Chevron[74] have
offices in El Segundo. Indeed, BAE, Boeing, and Chevron were her
"constituents" (and American Turkish Council members[75]) not only
when she was in Congress. Those corporations - another "coincidence"
- are her "constituents" again, at the WWC. Might the WWC have hired
Harman for her expertise in raking in military-industrial "donations"?
* The WWC has ingratiated itself with Turkey. It has given awards to
its Foreign Minister and a major Turkish corporate donor, and virtually
ignored Wilson's policies regarding Turkey and the Caucasus. Harman,
too, has ingratiated herself with Turkey. She reversed her stance on
the Congress's Armenian genocide resolution (and gave absurd reasons
for doing so). * And just as the Wilson Center has gotten away (so
far, anyway) with violating its Congressional mandate, Jane Harman
has escaped prosecution (so far, anyway) for her dealings with a
"foreign agent" in the AIPAC espionage scandal.
No, there's no prospect that Harman will lead the WWC to adhere to
the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968, fulfill its pledge to be a
"neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue," and release
the grip that mega-corporations have on it.
If Congress of its own volition will not bring the Wilson Center
to its senses, then Congress must pushed by the American people to
do so. Other possibilities are investigations and legal action by
third parties.
Just don't count on Jane Harman's cooperation.
_________________________
[1]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
n_Center
[2]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=An_Investigative_Report:_The_Woo
drow_Wilson_Center_Desecrates_its_Namesake%E2%80%9 9s_Legacy_and_Violates_its
_Congressional_Mandate
[3]http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-column
ists-claudia-rosett.html
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_International_Center_for_Scholar
s
[5] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/staff/jane-harman
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Harman
[7]http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0510/Lee_Hamilton_to_step_down_from
_Woodrow_Wilson_center.html?showall
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_H._Hamilton
[9] http://politics.salon.com/2009/04/20/harman/
[10]
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/04/21/harmanic-convergence/
[11]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_J._Rosen#The_indictment_of_Rosen_and_Weis
sman
[12] http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1549069,00.html
[13]http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/the_harman-aipac_story_a_t
imeline.php
[14] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/us/politics/21harman.html
[15] http://harpers.org/archive/2009/04/hbc-90004814
[16]http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/04/did-alberto-gonzales-blackmai
l-jane-harman
[17]
http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/dod/usfrnklin80205ind.pdf
[18]
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/05/03/the-spies-who-got-away/
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Franklin_espionage_scandal
[20]http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/04/jane-harman-denies-cq-rep
ort-she-was-caught-on-nsa-wiretap-lobbying-for-aipac-officials.html
[21] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.Res.106:
[22] http://www.armenian-genocide.org/
[23]http://asbarez.com/55952/la-times-editorial-condemns-harman-for-duplicity-on
-genocide-resolution/
[24] http://www.house.gov/list/hearing/ca36_harman/071012genocide.shtml
[25] http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2007/10/harman-flip-flo.html
[26]http://www.noplacefordenial.com/2007/08/press-kit-history-of-lobbying-agains
t.html
[27] http://www.forward.com/articles/1697/
[28]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/8/jewish-community-ends-support
-turkey-capitol-hill/
[29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League
[30] http://npfdnews.blogspot.com/
[31] http://www.noplacefordenial.com/2007/11/chronology-of-events.html
[32] http://npfdnews.blogspot.com/
[33]http://www.haaretz.com/news/peres-to-turks-our-stance-on-armenian-issue-hasn
-t-changed-1.228194
[34]http://npfdarchive.blogspot.com/2007/08/0824-tdn-turkey-looks-to-israel-to.h
tml
[35] http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1875981,00.html
[36]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/6982023/Sofa-provoke
s-diplomatic-row-between-Israel-and-Turkey.html
[37] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832876,00.html
[38] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
[39]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700176676/Turkey-warns-of-more-sanctions-
against-Israel.html
[40]http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/erdogan-turkey-warships-will-escort-
any-future-gaza-aid-flotilla-1.383300
[41]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:United_States_Statutes_at_Large_Volume_82
.djvu/1399
[42] http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9907
[43] http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34618.pdf
[44]
http://www.silkroadstudies.org/new/docs/Silkroadpapers/0902Chicky.pdf
[45] http://www.keghart.com/DWBush_Pawn
[46] http://www.armenian-genocide.org/wilson.html
[47] http://www.anca.org/genocide/wilson.php
[48]http://www.armenian-genocide.org/Affirmation.236/current_category.49/affirma
tion_detail.html
[49]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=An_Investigative_Report:_The_Woo
drow_Wilson_Center_Desecrates_its_Namesake%E2%80%9 9s_Legacy_and_Violates_its
_Congressional_Mandate
[50]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
n_Center
[51] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3djexco1vg
[52]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
n_Center
[53] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do%C4%9Fu%C5%9F_Holding
[54]http://ackerman.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=186&parentid=4§iontree=4,1
86&itemid=1029
[55]http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-column
ists-claudia-rosett.html
[56] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/wilson-alliances
[57]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
n_Center
[58]http://www.baesystems.com/WorldwideLocations/UnitedStates/AboutBAESystemsUni
tedStates/USBoardofDirectors/index.htm
[59]http://compliancesearch.com/compliancex/news-and-current-events/bae-pleads-g
uilty-to-us-conspiracy-charge/
[60] http://www.albrightstonebridge.com/team/lee-hamilton/
[61] http://www.9-11commission.gov/about/bio_hamilton.htm
[62]http://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-board-chairman-welcomes-ne
w-member-ignacio-e-sanchez
[63] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/wilson-council
[64] http://www.fara.gov/docs/3712-Exhibit-AB-20070510-4.pdf
[65] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/staff/marc-grossman-0
[66]
http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2010/05/09/the-brazen-turkish-lobby/
[67]http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=xprnw.20110208.DC44231&show_article =
1
[68]
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-11-03/news/cb-58346_1_susan-brooks
[69]http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/pacs.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00006750
§or=D&seclong=Defense&newMem=N
[70]http://influenceexplorer.com/politician/jane-harman/cadd08c0f4004c6590a74fc1
caf6ba28
[71]
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/voting_on_weapons_and_war_20110308/
[72] http://www.manta.com/c/mm88mtw/bae-systems-inc
[73] http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/
[74] http://www.chevron.com/products/sitelets/elsegundo/faq/
[75] http://www.the-atc.org/data/memberslist/ghorn.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By David Boyajian
HETQ
December 13, 2011
"Woodrow Wilson, the 28th American president, is looking down in
horror at what the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
(WWC) is doing in his name."
I wrote that last year in two exposes: "The Selling of the WWC"[1]
and "The WWC Desecrates its Namesake's Legacy"[2]. They revealed that
the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center is violating its Congressional
mandate and is up to its neck in tainted corporate cash.
A leading Congressman, a Wilson family descendant, citizens' groups,
and many others agreed. One prominent journalist called the WWC
"a global joke."[3]
Several months ago, this Congressionally-created, multi-million dollar
think tank[4], funded partly by taxpayers, made another colossal
blunder. It hired[5] former eight-term Congresswoman Jane Harman
(D-CA)[6] to be its president, replacing[7] Lee Hamilton,[8] also a
former Congressman.
Harman, like Hamilton, is not only part of the good-old-boy (and girl)
network of which the WWC is so fond. Among her other baggage, charges
of illegal conduct in a spy scandal[9] involving AIPAC (American
Israel Public Affairs Committee) have shadowed Harman[10] for years.
Let's take a closer look at Harman and the Wilson Center to see why
they're the marriage from hell.
Harman's spy scandal
Two top AIPAC officials, Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman,[11] were
indicted on spy charges in 2005 for passing classified documents
to Israel.
Citing confidential sources, Time magazine[12], in 2006, and
Congressional Quarterly, two years ago, reported that the Feds had
wiretapped Cong. Jane Harman and a "suspected Israeli agent" agreeing
to this deal[13]: Harman would persuade the Justice Department to
reduce the charges against Rosen and Weissman; in exchange, AIPAC
and its influential supporters would persuade then-Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi to reappoint the unpopular Harman as top Democrat on
the House Intelligence Committee.
Harman apparently promised the "Israeli agent" to "waddle into"[14]
the AIPAC scandal "if you think it'll make a difference." Harman
ended the exchange with "this conversation doesn't exist."[15]
The Justice Department and CIA wanted to prosecute Harman. But Alberto
Gonzales,[16] President Bush's Attorney General, reportedly refused
because - ironically - he "needed Jane" to support the government's
ongoing warrantless wiretapping program.
Shockingly, charges[17] against Rosen and Weissman were dropped[18]
in 2009 because a judge put constraints on Federal prosecutors. Larry
Franklin, the Defense Department official who passed the classified
documents to the two AIPAC officials, wasn't so lucky. He pled guilty
[19] three years earlier and went to prison.
Harman has long denied[20] any wrongdoing. She has never, however,
given a full account of her conversations regarding Rosen and
Weissman. Full accounts, as we shall see, are not one of Harman's
virtues.
Harman's genocide flip-flop
While co-sponsoring Congressional resolution HR 106[21] on
the Armenian genocide[22] committed by Turkey, Cong. Harman went
behind the backs[23] of her constituents in October of 2007 by
asking then-Foreign Relations Chair Tom Lantos (D-CA) to bury the
resolution. Only after her constituents discovered this through
other sources did she admit[24] to it.
But the explanations for her flip-flop made little sense.[25] "This
is the wrong time" for the resolution, wrote Harman. But she couldn't
cite anything relevant in 2007 that had changed regarding Turkey,
Armenia, or the Middle East since she signed onto the resolution a
few years earlier.
Harman claimed that a genocide resolution would "embarrass or
isolate the Turkish leadership." This claim came suspiciously
soon after she met with Turkey's threatening Prime Minister, Recep
Erdogan. Apparently, recognizing a genocide requires an OK from the
perpetrating country's leader.
But Harman reached truly ridiculous heights by claiming- again, this
was in 2007 - that it was "obvious" that Turkey's "leadership" was
needed for "resolving the Israel-Palestine issue." Turkey had never,
of course, played a significant role in mediating between Israelis
and Palestinians. What really caused Harman's genocide flip-flop?
Jewish groups and Turkey
AIPAC was (and is) one of several major Jewish American organizations
that have colluded with Turkey to, among other things, defeat Armenian
genocide resolutions. Israel, Turkey, and Jewish groups formed their
menage-a-trois[26] in the 1990's.
Yola Johnston[27], Community Outreach Director for the Jewish Institute
for National Security Affairs, has admitted that AIPAC, the American
Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith, her own organization, and "the Jewish
lobby" have "quite actively supported Turkey in their efforts to
prevent the so-called Armenian genocide resolution from passing."
AIPAC, reported the Washington Times[28] last year, had "lit up the
phones" against the genocide resolution when "the Turks" asked a
"senior researcher" at AIPAC to do so. That "senior researcher" and
"architect of the Jewish community's support for Turkey" was none other
than AIPAC's notorious Keith Weissman. So the Harman-AIPAC-Weissman
threesome was at the center of not only a spy scandal but also a
genocide cover-up.
And there's more. Yet another scandal may have induced Harman's
genocide duplicity.
Anti-Defamation League scandal
Harman wrote her genocide flip-flop letter to Chairman Lantos just as
the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)[29] was taking a beating in the U.S.
and internationally[30] for denying the Armenian genocide and helping
Turkey lobby against Armenian genocide recognition. Human rights
activists, principled Jews, and Armenian Americans had just months
earlier launched a campaign (see NoPlaceForDenial.com) that was to
result in more than a dozen Massachusetts cities' evicting[31] the
ADL's so-called "No Place for Hate" anti-bias program.
The Turkish government was furious that the embarrassing arrangement
among it, Jewish groups, and Israel was being splashed across the
headlines.[32]
Prime Minister Erdogan made a frantic call[33] to Israeli President
Peres, while Turkey's foreign minister reportedly warned the Israeli
ambassador that "our bilateral relations will suffer."[34]
Did Harman, who was certainly aware of this uproar, panic at the
prospect of a further deterioration in the already strained relations
between Israel and Turkey? Did she ask Lantos to kill the genocide
resolution because Turkey would blame Israel, AIPAC, the ADL, and
even Harman herself if the resolution succeeded?
Considering the timing, Harman's relationship to Israel and the
genocide-denying AIPAC, and the illogical explanations for her
flip-flop, it seems probable. Though the House Committee narrowing
passed the resolution, Harman had to be pleased that it did not make it
any further. Her appeasement of Turkey, however, proved to be in vain:
* Erdogan was soon calling Shimon Peres a mass murderer[35] (January
2009) for Israel's offensive against Gaza.
* Israel scolded and humiliated Turkey's ambassador[36](January 2010)
in response to Turkish criticism and an anti-Israeli TV show.[37] *
Israeli commandos shot nine Turks to death on a ship that had tried
to break the Gaza blockade [38] (May 2010).
* Erdogan has expelled the Israeli ambassador, cut defense ties with
Tel Aviv, and threatened[39] military retaliation[40] unless Israeli
apologizes and pays compensation for the flotilla killings.
But when, like Harman, one has few firm principles and has fooled
herself into believing that a country such as Turkey is a friend,
she inevitably winds up with yogurt on her face.
No self-respecting institution would have considered hiring anyone
with Harman's background. That may explain why the Wilson Center hired
her. It has little respect for its mission or the American people.
The Wilson Center flouts Congress
The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968[41] was crystal clear: The
WWC must commemorate Wilson's "ideals and concerns" and memorialize
"his accomplishments." Yet it has ignored large swaths of the Wilson
administration's record on the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia), Turkey, and the Middle East.
The WWC isn't just thumbing its nose at Congress and taxpayers. It
has closed its eyes to a wealth of political knowledge about a region
in which the U.S. has enormous interests. The Caucasus, for example,
is a major locus for producing and transporting oil and gas.[42] It's
also ground-zero in the new Cold War[43] between the U.S. and Russia,
particularly since the Russian-Georgian war[44] of 2008.
Donald Wilson Bush,[45] President of the Woodrow Wilson Legacy
Foundation and a Wilson family descendant, has rightly accused the
WWC of "violating [its] very own mission and purpose."
Wilson's Record
Wilson and the State Department's record on the region from the
WW 1 era is extensive. Though the U.S. did not formally declare
war against Turkey in WW1, Turkey was the main ally of Germany,
America's enemy. Wilson condemned[46], in the strongest terms,
Turkey's genocide of Armenians and was a fervent advocate[47] of
Armenian independence. By the terms of the Treaty of Sèvres[48] -
a product of the Paris Peace Conference in 1920 - the U.S. formally
delineated the borders of that part of Armenia and Kurdistan that
now lies within Turkey's eastern regions. Turkey later reneged on
the Treaty.
Yet, despite the clear stipulation of Congress, Wilson's record has
been almost totally ignored[49] by the WWC. Indeed, three years ago,
historian and legal scholar Ara Papian, a Canadian resident and former
Armenian Ambassador to Canada, applied for a WWC Fellowship to do
ground-breaking research[50] on the U.S. archival record regarding
Turkey and the Caucasus - a proposal the WWC should have jumped at.
Papian was rejected without explanation. Ironically, several months
ago Lee Hamilton told the American Historical Association[51] that
U.S. foreign policy officials need the views of "historians." Yet as
WWC president, he all but ignored the history of Wilson's Caucasus
policies.
Tainted corporate cash
The WWC has been corrupted by its gluttony[52] for corporate cash.
Case in point: it acknowledged that money was the main reason it
journeyed to Turkey in 2010 to honor a Turkish billionaire whose Dogus
Holding conglomerate[53] is a WWC donor, and to give a much-criticized
award to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Cong. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Chair of the House Subcommittee on the
Middle East and South Asia, blasted[54] Lee Hamilton for honoring
Davutoglu. Ackerman cited Turkey's military occupation of Cyprus,
closure of the border with Armenia, and denial of the Armenian
genocide. Honoring Davutoglu was "absolutely inconsistent with the
mission of the WWC and the ideals that animated President Wilson's
administration and foreign policy."
The Wilson Center, added Donald Wilson Bush, had engaged in "Turkish
diplomatic appeasement." It had "sacrificed its legitimacy as a
'neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue.'"
"Why," asked Claudia Rosett[55], "should Congress keep fueling this
morally blank, misleading and venal exercise [the WWC] with millions
of American tax dollars?" Good question.
Part of why the WWC has all but ignored Wilson's record on Turkey
and the Caucasus is undoubtedly that many major donors (present and
past members of its elite "Wilson Alliance"[56]) have lobbied for, or
been members of trade organizations that have lobbied for, Turkey and
against the Armenian resolution. These include Alcoa, BAE Systems,
Bechtel, Boeing, Bombardier, Chevron, Coca Cola, Exxon-Mobil and
Honeywell. [57]
In fact, Harman's predecessor, Lee Hamilton, engaged in a clear
conflict of interest during his tenure by sitting on the board[58] of
BAE Systems, a defense giant which does lots of business with Turkey.
Last year a Federal judge slapped BAE's parent corporation with a
$400 million criminal fine for "deception, duplicity and knowing
violations of law... on an enormous scale."[59] Too bad the judge
didn't also look into the Wilson Center.
Hamilton also sat on the board[60] of the Albright Stonebridge Group,
a "global strategy firm" headed by former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
Hamilton's WWC bio, incredibly, was dead silent about his corporate
affiliations. This same Lee Hamilton co-chaired the official National
Commission[61] on the 9/11 attacks, whose report has been widely
criticized as incomplete and biased. Hamilton and Harman, you see,
can be counted on not to rock the corporate establishment's boat.
The WWC is rife with other questionable characters, including those
with deep ties to Turkey, such as former board member[62] and present
Wilson Council member Ignacio Sanchez[63], a lobbyist employed by DLA
Piper, which is a registered foreign agent[64] for Turkey. And former
"Wilson Public Policy Scholar"[65] Marc Grossman[66], ex-US ambassador
to Turkey and DLA Piper bigwig. "Coincidentally," Sanchez and Grossman
were both on the WWC Search Committee[67] that hired Harman.
Made for each other
If ever there was a marriage made in hell, therefore, Jane Harman
and the Wilson Center are it:
* The WWC receives millions in "donations" from the military-industrial
complex, which influences the Center's agenda and policies. Similarly,
Harman - a former Defense Department lawyer - has received large
campaign contributions[68] from defense and aerospace[69] firms'
Political Action Committees and employees[70], including those in El
Segundo, a key military-industrial center[71] located in her former
Congressional district.
"Coincidentally," major Wilson Center donors BAE Systems[72]
(Lee Hamilton's comrade-in-arms), Boeing[73], and Chevron[74] have
offices in El Segundo. Indeed, BAE, Boeing, and Chevron were her
"constituents" (and American Turkish Council members[75]) not only
when she was in Congress. Those corporations - another "coincidence"
- are her "constituents" again, at the WWC. Might the WWC have hired
Harman for her expertise in raking in military-industrial "donations"?
* The WWC has ingratiated itself with Turkey. It has given awards to
its Foreign Minister and a major Turkish corporate donor, and virtually
ignored Wilson's policies regarding Turkey and the Caucasus. Harman,
too, has ingratiated herself with Turkey. She reversed her stance on
the Congress's Armenian genocide resolution (and gave absurd reasons
for doing so). * And just as the Wilson Center has gotten away (so
far, anyway) with violating its Congressional mandate, Jane Harman
has escaped prosecution (so far, anyway) for her dealings with a
"foreign agent" in the AIPAC espionage scandal.
No, there's no prospect that Harman will lead the WWC to adhere to
the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Act of 1968, fulfill its pledge to be a
"neutral forum for open, serious, and informed dialogue," and release
the grip that mega-corporations have on it.
If Congress of its own volition will not bring the Wilson Center
to its senses, then Congress must pushed by the American people to
do so. Other possibilities are investigations and legal action by
third parties.
Just don't count on Jane Harman's cooperation.
_________________________
[1]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
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[2]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=An_Investigative_Report:_The_Woo
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[3]http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-column
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[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_International_Center_for_Scholar
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[5] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/staff/jane-harman
[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Harman
[7]http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0510/Lee_Hamilton_to_step_down_from
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[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_H._Hamilton
[9] http://politics.salon.com/2009/04/20/harman/
[10]
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[11]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_J._Rosen#The_indictment_of_Rosen_and_Weis
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[12] http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1549069,00.html
[13]http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/the_harman-aipac_story_a_t
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[14] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/us/politics/21harman.html
[15] http://harpers.org/archive/2009/04/hbc-90004814
[16]http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2009/04/did-alberto-gonzales-blackmai
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[17]
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[18]
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[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Franklin_espionage_scandal
[20]http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/04/jane-harman-denies-cq-rep
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[21] http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.Res.106:
[22] http://www.armenian-genocide.org/
[23]http://asbarez.com/55952/la-times-editorial-condemns-harman-for-duplicity-on
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[24] http://www.house.gov/list/hearing/ca36_harman/071012genocide.shtml
[25] http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2007/10/harman-flip-flo.html
[26]http://www.noplacefordenial.com/2007/08/press-kit-history-of-lobbying-agains
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[27] http://www.forward.com/articles/1697/
[28]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jun/8/jewish-community-ends-support
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[29] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Defamation_League
[30] http://npfdnews.blogspot.com/
[31] http://www.noplacefordenial.com/2007/11/chronology-of-events.html
[32] http://npfdnews.blogspot.com/
[33]http://www.haaretz.com/news/peres-to-turks-our-stance-on-armenian-issue-hasn
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[34]http://npfdarchive.blogspot.com/2007/08/0824-tdn-turkey-looks-to-israel-to.h
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[35] http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1875981,00.html
[36]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/6982023/Sofa-provoke
s-diplomatic-row-between-Israel-and-Turkey.html
[37] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3832876,00.html
[38] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
[39]http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700176676/Turkey-warns-of-more-sanctions-
against-Israel.html
[40]http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/erdogan-turkey-warships-will-escort-
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[41]http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:United_States_Statutes_at_Large_Volume_82
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[42] http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=9907
[43] http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34618.pdf
[44]
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[45] http://www.keghart.com/DWBush_Pawn
[46] http://www.armenian-genocide.org/wilson.html
[47] http://www.anca.org/genocide/wilson.php
[48]http://www.armenian-genocide.org/Affirmation.236/current_category.49/affirma
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[49]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=An_Investigative_Report:_The_Woo
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[50]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
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[51] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3djexco1vg
[52]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
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[53] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do%C4%9Fu%C5%9F_Holding
[54]http://ackerman.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=186&parentid=4§iontree=4,1
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[55]http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/18/turkey-woodrow-wilson-award-opinions-column
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[56] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/wilson-alliances
[57]http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=The_Selling_of_the_Woodrow_Wilso
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[58]http://www.baesystems.com/WorldwideLocations/UnitedStates/AboutBAESystemsUni
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[59]http://compliancesearch.com/compliancex/news-and-current-events/bae-pleads-g
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[60] http://www.albrightstonebridge.com/team/lee-hamilton/
[61] http://www.9-11commission.gov/about/bio_hamilton.htm
[62]http://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/wilson-center-board-chairman-welcomes-ne
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[63] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/wilson-council
[64] http://www.fara.gov/docs/3712-Exhibit-AB-20070510-4.pdf
[65] http://www.wilsoncenter.org/staff/marc-grossman-0
[66]
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[67]http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=xprnw.20110208.DC44231&show_article =
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[68]
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[69]http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/pacs.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00006750
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[70]http://influenceexplorer.com/politician/jane-harman/cadd08c0f4004c6590a74fc1
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[71]
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[72] http://www.manta.com/c/mm88mtw/bae-systems-inc
[73] http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/
[74] http://www.chevron.com/products/sitelets/elsegundo/faq/
[75] http://www.the-atc.org/data/memberslist/ghorn.htm
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress