Comment is Free today published my piece on Chas. Freeman’s withdrawal.  I wanted to expand on a few points in it.  The NY Times characterizes Aipac’s Josh Block as saying the following about the group’s involvement in the anti-Freeman campaign: Joshua Block, a spokesman for the ...

Conor Clarke ran into Chas Freeman on the 42 bus this morning: I introduced myself and told him I was sorry that he resigned. He recoiled only slightly when I mentioned I worked for the Atlantic, then smiled broadly. “Shit happens.” He added a little wistfully: “I wasn’t so e...

After mostly ignoring the controversy over the appointment of Chas Freeman to head the NIC, the NYT and WaPo have now reported on Freeman’s withdrawal. As Meryl notes, he very clearly blames the Israel lobby. The Washington Post reports: In an e-mail sent to friends yesterday evening, Freeman ...

In response to today’s withdrawal of Chas Freeman to be head of the NIC, Ira Forman of the NJDC issued the following statement: Today, the Obama administration accepted the withdrawal of Chas Freeman to head the National Intelligence Council By doing so the Obama administration made clear that...

The Israel lobby and Republican neocons have scored their first triumph of the Obama administration by derailing the appointment of Chas. Freeman as director of the National Intelligence Council. The next time anyone qvells about how moderate a Republican Olympia Snowe is just remember that it was p...

Barack Obama’s first choice to head the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn his name for consideration. We can be thankful for his doing so. Freeman is a member of that school of diplomacy that sees the United States as being the root of a lot of the evil in the world. He’s refer...

Chas Freeman has been forced to pull his name out of consideration for the chairmanship of the National Intelligence Council. I knew it was too good to be true. Pressure from pro-Israel members of Congress, AIPAC, and the Israeli leadership turned out to be too much. Once again Israel has shown that...

Discussing the flare up over possible National Intelligence Council chair Chas Freeman, M.J. Rosenberg writes something that deserves some parsing: Now Jonathan Chait of the New Republic is an interesting case. He's liberal on every single issue but Israel (on which he is pure neocon), not only libe...

One of the disturbing aspects of the Chas Freeman appointment is how it has exposed the true agenda of Israel’s critics. Outside of Israel, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of this appointment. And yet the anti-Israel Left applauds it. I hardly think that these people have any sympa...

Hat tip: The Daily Dish I've been reading about the case of Chas Freeman, who has been nominated for National Intellgence Council Chief. Seems as if Mr. Freeman has been targeted by the Israeli Lobby for being, agasp, a person not falling in line with everything pro-Israel. Mr. Freeman from a speech...