Ex-CIA agent tweets article blaming Jews for US wars, then apologizes
Valerie Plame Wilson links to piece called ‘America’s Jews are driving America’s wars,’ then says she is of ‘Jewish decent,’ finally says she made a ‘doozy’ of a mistake
Valerie Plame Wilson, a former CIA agent and author, came under fire on Thursday after she tweeted a link to a piece titled “America’s Jews are driving America’s wars.”
Wilson, whose identity as a CIA operative was leaked by an official in former president George W. Bush’s administration in 2003, left the agency in 2005. She initially defended the article, written by Philip Giraldi, but she later backtracked, begging for forgiveness.
The article included statements saying that anyone who touches on the subject of the US-Israeli relationship and American Jews runs the risk of a “quick trip to obscurity” because “Jewish groups and deep pocket individual donors not only control the politicians, they own and run the media and entertainment industries.”
Focused on a potential impending war with Iran, it asserts that “what makes the war engine run is provided by American Jews who have taken upon themselves the onerous task of starting a war with a country that does not conceivably threaten the United States.” Giraldi went on to assert, “the issue that nearly all the Iran haters are Jewish has somehow fallen out of sight, as if it does not matter. But it should matter.”
Giraldi cites a list of Jews as “conduits for the false information that led to a war [with Iraq] that has spread and effectively destroyed much of the Middle East.”
His column concludes: “We don’t need a war with Iran because Israel wants one and some rich and powerful American Jews are happy to deliver. Seriously, we don’t need it.”
The column appeared Tuesday on the website The Unz Review, which is funded by Ron Unz, a one-time candidate for governor of California who is Jewish. According to the Washington Examiner, the Anti-Defamation League noted in 2014 that Unz publicizes ideas promoted by anti-Semites and supports anti-Israel ideologies, but does not appear to be anti-Semitic himself.
Wilson initially explained why she shared the column in a series of tweets.
She wrote: “First of all, calm down. Re-tweets don’t imply endorsement. Yes, [the piece is] very provocative, but thoughtful. Many neocon hawks ARE Jewish. Just FYI, I am of Jewish decent (sic). I am not in favor of war with Iran, or getting out of the Iran nuclear treaty. There are simply too many who are so ready to go to war. Haven’t we had enough for a while? Read the entire article and try, just for a moment, to put aside your biases and think clearly.”
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/910884546723196929
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/910893481735757825
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https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/910894146029621249
But later Wilson backed down and said she missed the “gross undercurrents” of the story.
“OK folks, look, I messed up. I skimmed this piece, zeroed in on the neocon criticism, and shared it without seeing and considering the rest,” Wilson tweeted.
“I missed gross undercurrents to this article & didn’t do my homework on the platform this piece came from. Now that I see it, it’s obvious. Apologies all. There is so much there that’s problematic AF and I should have recognized it sooner. Thank you for pushing me to look again. I’m not perfect and make mistakes. This was a doozy. All I can do is admit them, try to be better, and read more thoroughly next time. Ugh.”
https://twitter.com/ValeriePlame/status/910914329138130944
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In the past Wilson linked to a story by Giraldi published on the same website that reported Israelis were “dancing” after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Washington Examiner noted. She also complimented Giraldi for another piece titled “Why I Still Dislike Israel.”
Last month, she drew headlines when she started an internet funding campaign intended to raise enough money to buy shares in Twitter so that she could delete US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
