Friday, January 13, 2006
Condoleeza Rice let the Norwegians know that there would be negative consequences for any boycotts of Israeli products (see here and here). Very nice to read.
USA threats after boycott support
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice threatened Norway with "serious political consequences" after Finance Minister and Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen admitted to supporting a boycott of Israeli goods.
The reaction was reportedly given to the Norwegian embassy in Washington DC, and it was made clear that the statements came from the top level of the US State Department, newspaper VG reports.
VG claims that two classified reports promised a "tougher climate" between the USA and Norway if Halvorsen's remarks represented the foreign policy of the new red-green alliance of the Labor, Socialist Left and Center parties...
It's good news but more evidence of how Israel is at the whim of the State Dept which is heavily influenced by the Saudis and their oil and the policy of "stability" in the Arab world.
Perhaps Sec. Rice has forgotton that Saudi Arabia continues it's boycott of Israel, but I have heard no similar talk of 'serious consequences'. Despite their boycott, and in defiance of it's own regulations, Saudi Arabia was admitted to the World Trade Organization with U.S. approval. I find this double standard indefensible. Mr. Nargizian is absolutely right that our State Dept. remains unduly influenced by the Saudis.
From a Norwegian: Our government is currently a mess due to the amateurs from the socialist left party.
The follow-up to the above is that the prime and foreign ministers (from the labor party) acted quickly to defuse the problem, called and mailed Rice and the Israelis, and the finance minister had to make a highly humiliating retreat. This has been debated a lot in talkshows and so on. Truly an embarrassment, but it ended up okay as the culprit got a lesson in international relations she (and her dwindling group of voters) won't forget.
Thanks for the data point, Ragnar.
Tom -
Because Israel also doesn't give a shit if Saudi Arabia is "boycotting" them... what the h are they going to buy from Israel anyway, or anyone for that matter. The Mafia Pyramid has all the money anyway.
Norway buys a lot of food and other items from Israel. Europe is Israel's largest trading partner by far.
That being said of course State is up the Saudi's arshes. The Saudis are the ones funding Wahabism in most mosques in this country and around the world.... and yet they're still our drug dealers.
So ya know....
Mike;
You noted the Saudi influence that worries me the most. An estimated 80% of the mosques built in the US are at least partially funded by Saudi Wahabi interests. Most have at least some anti Semitic and anti Christain publications in their theology bookracks. They also control most of the clerics assigned to military units. I have a strong unease about the undue influence of the extreme Wahabi presense in the U.S. If anyone in authority bothered to translate some of the domestic publications available, it would become obvious that issues of hate speech should be brought out in the open. However, I doubt the MSM would even report such findings, let alone do any investigative reporting about it.