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Aliabid94 | 8 months ago

The US continues to burn its soft power capital to defend Israel - this guy was only targeted because of his investigations on Israeli war crimes.

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Atlas667|8 months ago

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subscribed|8 months ago

You don't call conspiracy something with receipts openly laying around.

krapp|8 months ago

What "Epstein/Israel/Trump blackmail conspiracy?" It's already known that Trump is in the Epstein files. He's already admitted to sexual assault, has been found liable of sexual abuse and is a convicted felon. He's one of the most openly venal and corrupt Presidents in history. There's literally nothing Israel could have on him that would surprise anyone.

Every American President will defend Israel at any cost. The American military industrial complex depends upon the existence of an aggressive, Zionist Israeli government constantly starting shit and creating the pretext for American imperialist doctrine. Conservative and evangelical Christians believe it is their literal sacred duty to defend Israel (see recent comments by Ted Cruz citing the Bible to that effect) It doesn't matter who is in the White House, or what party, and no coercion or blackmail is required.

bee_rider|8 months ago

Was Epstein particularly connected to Israel? I mean, Israel already has very strong lobbying in the US. What would they have needed the weirdo for?

zombiwoof|8 months ago

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ryandrake|8 months ago

Let's not overlook that Israel has bought all previous US presidents back to its founding, and more than enough Congresscritters. We have been treating Israel as if it were the 51st state, including unconditionally funding and defending it.

AlecSchueler|8 months ago

I thought it was Russia who had bought him? It's hard to keep up

CommanderData|8 months ago

Because any US president is expendable if they don't comply.

yoavm|8 months ago

> because Israel bought Trump

I don't think the US ever had a president who cared less about Israel than Trump. The few times Trump has been on the Israel side seem to be only because Israel was "winning" some conflict, and Trump just prefers being on the winning side. He doesn't seem to care (or understand) the slightest whether Jews have a state, whether they can defend themselves, etc.

JumpCrisscross|8 months ago

> because Israel bought Trump

This is a self-defeating and untrue meme.

Most Americans don’t say Israel is very important to them, favourably or not [1]. Historically, Israel was popular in both parties; that has now changed. As a result, being anti-Israel was dumb not because of some APAC [EDIT: AIPAC] conspiracy but because voters generally don’t respond to foreign policy issues (versus kitchen-sink ones) and the voters who would tended to were predominantly pro-Israel. So the safe electoral strategy has been, until maybe the last year, to say something nice about Israel and then move on.

So no, there isn’t some undefeatable (and frankly, steeped in historically-racist characterisations of Jews) shadow government. This is basic electoral incentives. Incentives which are shifting. Because if there is an undefeatable shadow government, there are better things to talk about and focus on.

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/04/08/how-ameri...

revnode|8 months ago

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jeremyjh|8 months ago

That sounds...appropriate? I would have no issues with every living former US President being accountable for their crimes, and I expect they would all be convicted.

JimBlackwood|8 months ago

How is it a threat to American sovereignty? It has no jurisdiction in America, only within nations that are party to the treaty - which is their sovereign right?

Is a foreign nation convicting an American tourist for crimes in said nation also a threat to American sovereignty?

Tostino|8 months ago

If the US is in the wrong, why should I as a citizen not want our government officials held accountable?

insane_dreamer|8 months ago

> ICC can and will target the US at some point

as they should, if the US' actions warrant it