Chas Freeman Pulls Out

Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced yestertoday that Ambassador Charles W. (Chas) Freeman Jr. has requested that his selection to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council not proceed. Yesterday at a Senate hearing, Blair faced questions about the perception that Freeman is anti-Israel and pro-Saudi Arabia and pro-China, as critics have alleged. Blair said Freeman was being taken out of context.Since 1997, he has presided over the Middle East Policy Council, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that is funded in part by Saudi money. In that role, Freeman has occasionally criticized the Israeli government’s positions and U.S. support for those policies. In 2007, for example, he said, ‘The brutal oppression of the Palestinians by the Israeli occupation shows no sign of ending,’ adding, ‘American identification with Israel has become total.'”

Opposition to Freeman’s appointment has been led by several pro-Israel groups and advocates in the United States, joined by some members of Congress.

{Elisha Ferber-Matzav.com Newscenter}