US Politics: Is This the Beginning --- or the Beginning of the End --- for Glenn Beck? (Haddigan)

EA's US Politics correspondent Lee Haddigan writes:

This coming weekend the US capital will be invaded by a conservative army. With the main entertainment to be provided by anti-establishment ‘barbarians’ Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck, supported by a Tea Party growing increasingly frustrated with Washington elites, it may be an opportune moment for members of the Obama Administration to take a break before November's mid-term elections and get out of town.

More importantly, this weekend is meant --- at least for supporters of the gathering --- to mark the beginning for a grassroots conservatism committed to changing US politics in the future. Not just for the next two or ten years but, under Glenn Beck’s "Plan" to be unveiled on Saturday, for a century.

The festivities begin sedately enough on Friday with the 2010 Defending the American Dream Summit. Hosted by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, this conference of leading conservative activists and policymakers will concentrate on giving last-minute instructions to local organizers. It ends with a special "Tribute to Ronald Reagan" dinner.

The same night, Glenn Beck will be hosting a "Divine Destiny" evening at the Kennedy Center. Attendance is free, on a first-come, first-(re)served ticket basis, but the audience, according to Beck's website, will be mainly pastors, ministers, and clergy. Beck regards these religious leaders of the present asthe vanguard of the movement to re-establish in America a government based on moral values.

Those who see Beck as a deliberately controversial clown may be surprised at what he claims is the intent of the evening. He invites those who “are sick and tired of hearing about how divided America has become” to join him for a night “that will help heal your soul”. Beck will be joined by nationally-known religious figures of all faiths, aided by uplifting music, to provide an event that “will leave you with a renewed determination to look past the partisan differences and petty problems that fill our airwaves and instead focus our shared values, principles and strong belief that faith can play an essential role in reuniting the country”.

But "Divine Destiny"’ is just the warm-up for the main event. On Saturday, Beck and Sarah Palin will be the main speakers at the "Restoring Honor Rally" in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Held on the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech, the Rally is the culmination of nine months' planning by Beck to present his "Plan" for the future of America.

On 21 November 2009, Beck announced in front of 25,000 people in Florida that he was writing a book that would show Americans how to change the current political climate. He argued that the country could not rely on a leader or a party to end the “bipartisan corruption in Washington”. He maintained that instead, “I have come to realize that the only one who can truly save our country…is us.” Each individual, parent and child, must educate themselves as a family in the values that would lead them to fight on the “battlefield of ideas” to restore the America of maximum freedom envisaged by the Founding Fathers.

To underscore the religious foundations of this weekend's rally, Beck used his radio programme of 18 July to appeal to listeners to spend 40 days and 40 nights before the event praying for the country. (Jesus and his trials in the desert were not mentioned specifically, but the allusion was clear enough.) Beck asked his audience to consider in detail the importance to them personally of their "faith, hope and charity", and he ended this segment of his show with a plea for everyone to change their lives for the better over those next 40 days, to show more faith, hope and charity, and to join him at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial: “Make a vow to yourself. It will not end with me, not on my watch.”

Surprisingly, the event is a non-political rally where no signs of any sort (except flags) will be allowed. It has been organized to pay tribute to the armed forces, and all proceeds will go to the Special Operations Warriors Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps veterans. The rally will celebrate America’s heritage and traditional values, and it will ask participants to adopt the personal virtues of great leaders of the past to build a new United States. Beck will tie those aims into the promotion of the ideas in Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth and Treasure, due for publication later in the year.

The volunteer marshals for the Rally will be supplied by the Tea Party Patriots. So, it was a natural logistical progression for that group to organize a general Tea Party protest meeting for the Sunday at Upper Senate Park.  The rally will be dedicated to the Tea Party Patriots' slogan to "Repeal, Reduce, Restore": “repeal legislation forced on us by a corrupt Congress, reduce the size and scope of government, and restore the founding principles of the Constitution.” Taking place only two weeks before the more-widely publicised 9-12 meetings, this event will provide an interesting indication of Tea Party strength and enthusiasm.

Those with a good memory may recall that Beck has staged mega-events in the past to support the troops. Between March and May of 2003, just before and after the invasion of Iraq, he organized a series of "Rallies for America". And here we come to the troubling enigma that is Glenn Beck. Does he truly believe in the integrity of the message he preaches? Or, as his many critics claim, does he just spout a nonsense that appeals to "paranoid" Americans as part of his building the brand "Glenn Beck" for personal financial gain?

Although this weekend will be an  indicator of conservative strength heading into the mid-term election, it is of much more interest as a sign of what future impact Glenn Beck will have on the movement. "The Plan" he will present in front of the Lincoln Memorial has taken time and thought, and it is obviously a vital part of his attempt to portray himself as the intellectual guru of conservatism. Many may not like his interpretation of America’s past or his well-intentioned ideas for the future, but there is little doubt that Beck asks questions of his audience that require an understanding of tradition and community in the United States.

Unfortunately for Beck, with his troubled personal history, and the example of similar populists of the past (Coughlin, McCarthy, Hargis, etc.), this could prove to be the zenith of his career and influence. Beck clearly views himself as a Martin Luther King-like figure who will lead conservatives back to their civil rights in a Promised Land from which "progressivism" expelled them from at the turn of the last century.

Beck's problem is that. after Washington, he does not have a Birmingham or Selma to maintain his march for a virtuous America. So, even if you hate The Glenn Beck Show, have a little sympathy for him. I suspect that after this weekend, as an addict to more and more adulation, he will begin the slide into oblivion that awaits all populist leaders who search without end for the next thrill.

The Latest from Iran (22 August): Ahmadinejad Aide Mortazavi Suspended?

2055 GMT: The Suspension of the President's Man. Radio Zamaneh is now carrying the report from Rah-e-Sabz that former Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi and two judges have been suspended by the judiciary because of an alleged connection with the post-election abuses in Kahrizak Prison (see 1310 GMT).

The attorney of Amir Javadifar, one of the Kahrizak victims, gave the news to Rah-e-Sabz. Mortazavi has not been named, to our knowledge, by any media inside Iran.

2040 GMT: Larijani & Ahmadinejad Striking a Deal? This will be our lead update in the morning, given its potential significance, but might as well bring it out tonight.



Islamic Republic News Agency is claiming, from its "political reporter", that President Ahmadinejad and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani --- after a meeting between Government and the Majlis --- have held a joint press conference, calling for the co-operation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Larijani noted the need to work together for solutions on political, economic, and agricultural issues.

After the escalating friction over months between Larijani, accompanied by high-powered Parliamentary allies, and Ahmadinejad and his inner circle, has the Supreme Leader brought reconciliation with his meeting on Wednesday with both men and with the head of Iran's judiciary, Sadegh Larijani?

NEW Iran: Today’s Shiny Object for Media? Why, It’s an Ambassador-of-Death Drone Bomber!
Iran Video: BBC Interview with Human Rights Lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei
The Latest from Iran (21 August): Nuclear Games and Questions

1920 GMT: Nuclear Front. Tucked away in The New York Times report on Saturday's opening of the Bushehr nuclear plant was this intriguing statement from the head of Russia’s Rosatom state nuclear power company, Sergei Kiriyenko:

He....announced that Russia would provide Iran with iodine and molybdenum, nuclear isotopes used in medicine. It was unclear what effect this would have on efforts to dissuade Iran from enriching uranium to a higher grade than is needed in electrical power plants so that it could be used in a research reactor in Tehran that produces medical isotopes.

In other words, will Iran withdraw its demand that it be allowed to enrich uranium to 20%, at least while discussions proceed on a long-term deal over the nuclear programme? And is Washington up-to-speed and supportive of the Russian move?

1900 GMT: Supreme Leader's Corner. Parleman News, drawing from Ayatollah Khamenei's website, offers a full summary of his three-hour meeting today with representatives of 12 different student organisations.

1800 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Ali Jamali and Hassan Asadi-Zaidabadi, two senior members of the student alumni organisation Advar Tahkim Vahdat, were arrested this afternoon.

1310 GMT: Mortazavi Falls? Forget the Bushehr nuclear plant and the "Ambassador of Death" drone bomber: this could be the news of the weekend.

Rah-e-Sabz is reporting that former Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi and two other senior officials have been suspended from their posts after an Iranian court ruled they had a part in the post-election abuses at Kahrizak Prison, in which three detainees are officially acknowledged to have been killed.

There is political significance far beyond the legal decision. Mortazavi moved from the prosecutor's post to the President's office, where he was an aide offically overseeing campaigns against drugs and smuggling. For months, as we have highlighted on EA, opponents of the President --- both amongst reformists and within conservative ranks --- have been aiming at Mortazavi. Removing him would put a chink in Ahmadinejad's political armour.

1200 GMT: Nuclear Sideshow. Iranian state media --- Islamic Republic News Agency, Fars News, Iranian Students News Agency --- highlight repeated allegations from the Ministry of Intelligence that Hossein Mousavian, Iran's Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council (and thus deputy negotiator on nuclear issues), "has provided aliens with classified information and this is a clear case of espionage".

Moussavian was jailed in 2007 on espionage charges but later released on bail.

The statement points to a continuing internal battle over the nuclear position: earlier this week the head of Iran's atomic energy organisation, Ali Akbar Salehi, said there was no proof that Moussavian has ever been involved in espionage.

1005 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran details the campaign against student activist Abed Tavancheh, which includes not only arrest and a one-year prison sentence but also confiscation of the family home.

Rassoul Badaghi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Teachers’ Association and of the Unity Council for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran, has been sentenced to six years in prison and a five-year ban on partisan activities.

The wife of labour activist Mansour Osanloo has confirmed that he has received an additional one-year sentence for "propagating against the regime", added to his earlier five-year sentence. Osanloo has been in detention since July 2007.

1000 GMT: The Nuclear Talks. Is this the answer to our head-scratching this week about the apparent conflict between the Supreme Leader's statement on Wednesday (my reading: "No talks until the US pulls back sanctions) and President Ahmadinejad's Thursday interview ("Talks as early as late August or early September")?

Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani, who took a firm line against Ahmadinejad when the President pushed multilateral discussions last autumn, said Sunday that Iran is keen to hold negotiations with the world. That is, with all the world except the United States.

“The US's fraudulent arrogance has led to its fake narcissism. The Americans falsely think that their overstatements about regional nations and the Iranians will bear fruits," Larijani said.

On the surface, that appears a blunt attempt to split European powers from Washington. It's also, I suggest, a futile attempt since France, Germany, and the UK are not going to sit down at the table unless the Americans are supportive.

So is Larijani too short-sighted to note this or did he effectively put out a "spoiler" against any discussions? And did he consult with Ayatollah Khamenei before making the statement?

0940 GMT: Tough Talk Today Special. We've posted a special feature on Iran's unveiling of a new drone bomber which, we happily predict, will soon be called an "Ambassador of Death".

0715 GMT: The Music (of Protest) Still Plays. In July 2009, weeks after the Presidential election, we posted a video of U2 playing "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" in Barcelona as a tribute to demands for justice and rights in Iran.

From Helsinki on Friday:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ5_M-iPw7U[/youtube]

0635 GMT: Is This the Definition of Irony? An Iranian blog claims that during Saturday's celebration of the introduction of uranium rods into Iran's first nuclear plant at Bushehr, parts of the city lost power in 50-degree Celsius (122-degree Fahrenheit) heat.

0615 GMT: We begin this morning by noting yet another attempted intimidation of senior clerics who have been critical of the Government. Kalemeh reports that a crowd surrounded the main mosque in Shiraz after Friday Prayers, shouting slogans against Grand Ayatollah Dastgheib.

There have been several gatherings since the election against Dastgheib. In December, the protestors damaged and defaced the walls of the mosque complex, and Dastgheib temporarily left his offices.

Meanwhile....

Sanctions Watch

Peyke Iran claims that foreign automobile manufacturers Mercedes, Toyota, and BMW have stopped trade with Iran and that Hyundai might follow.

The Mothers of Protest

An Iranian website has published the statement of the Mothers of Mourning, who have restated their opposition to the post-election injustices, abuses, and killings and have renamed themselves the Mothers of Laleh Park.

The mothers, many of whom have had children who were imprisoned or slain during the conflict, began gathering last summer in Tehran's Laleh Park every Saturday, despite pressure from security forces and occasional detentions.

Iraq Video & Analysis: Odierno Sets Up the Long Haul Non-Withdrawal

A big US military public-relations push today, with General Raymond Odierno, the commander in Iraq, appearing on CNN's State of the Union (transcript) and CBS's Face the Nation as well as holding a press conference in Baghdad.

The set-up? American commanders are already looking beyond the nominal drawdown to 50,000 troops on 31 August --- the ostensible reason for the press coverage --- and even beyond the 2011 deadline for the removal of all combat troops. So Odierno is spinning a long-term "strategic partnership" with the Iraqis as the pretext for the continuing military commitment.

Iraq Special: When a War is Not Over (Bacevich)
Iraq Special: Obama Declares Victory. Sort Of. Depends How You Look at It. (The Onion)
Iraq Special: When a Withdrawal Is Not a Withdrawal (Alaaldin)

If all goes well, with an Iraqi government --- a "trustworthy" Iraqi government in Washington's eyes --- formed after months of stalemate, a downturn in violence, and a "reliable" Iraqi army and security forces, then perhaps the US can meet the nominal 2011 target of no combat troops. (Of course, numerous US support forces, trainers, and logistical personnel, as well as "private" American operators, will remain.)

And if all does not go well? Well, Odierno is ready for that, with promises that the US can re-introduce forces. In fact, he was quite happy to set out how that scenario might unfold. There was not only the possibility that the lack of security might draw back in US forces. There was also the prospect of an unacceptable external power grabbing influence.

Who might that be? As Voice of America summarises:

Iran is fueling instability in neighboring Iraq by funding and training Shi'ite extremist groups in the country.

General Ray Odierno told CNN on Sunday that Iran does not want Iraq to become a strong democratic country. He said Iran would rather see Iraq become a "weak governmental institution".

UPDATED US Politics: Obama is a Muslim (This Time They're Serious)

UPDATE 22 August: Reverend Franklin Graham, the son of legendary preacher Billy Graham and a prominent evangelist in his own right, stokes the flames in an interview on CNN: "I think the President's problem is that he was born a Muslim, his father was a Muslim. The seed of Islam is passed through the father like the seed of Judaism is passed through the mother. He was born a Muslim, his father gave him an Islamic name....

"Now it's obvious that the president has renounced the prophet Mohammed, and he has renounced Islam, and he has accepted Jesus Christ. That's what he says he has done. I cannot say that he hasn't. So I just have to believe that the president is what he has said....The Islamic world sees the president as one of theirs."

Juan Cole takes apart Graham's claim: "Unlike in Judaism, one is not born a Muslim. Rather, children of Muslim parents who embrace Islam typically recite the confession of faith around puberty and undertake to fulfill the obligations of Islamic law at that time."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzKs2b34rjQ[/youtube]

US Politics & Religion: A Way Forward on and beyond the Islamic Cultural Centre (Ezell)

UPDATE 0945 GMT: Chris McGreal of The Guardian profiles Pam Geller, whose blog Atlas Shrugs has been instrumental in promoting the notion of "The Islamization of America" and in converting the proposed Islamic Cultural Center in New York City into a crisis.

UPDATE 0900 GMT: And the Serious Parodies Keep Coming. James Taranto, has been given cover for years by The Wall Street Journal to re-work news into a cudgel against "liberals" --- one of his latest ventures is to endorse the "reporting" of The New York Post, "The developers of the Ground Zero mosque are refusing to flat out reject cash for the project from Holocaust-denying Iranian nuke nut Mahmoud Ahmadinejad".

So rather than consider how we have gotten to the point where CNN would post the large headline at the bottom of the TV screen, "W.H. [White House]: PRES. OBAMA ISN'T MUSLIM", Taranto sees Liberal Conspiracy: "The agenda behind these polls [showing 18% of Americans believe the President is a secret Muslim], and the liberal media's reporting on them, is to portray critics of President Obama as kooks and idiots."

Ever since November 2008, less than three weeks after the birth of EA, we have tracked --- tongue firmly in cheek --- the shocking story that Barack Obama is in fact a Muslim. We first brought you the truth courtesy of our favourite on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia. We were there when Obama outed himself (at least for our fellow "journalists"), "The Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives." We were there for the Obama bow-down to the Saudi king.

We were even there for the revelation --- which, thanks to the liberals who dominate the US media, never appeared --- that Obama was actually Osama.

However, amidst the current whipped-up controversy over the Islamic Cultural Center in New York City, perhaps it's time to suggest that this is not a tongue-in-cheek matter. The Washington Times, the second-largest newspaper in the US capital, allowed its staff member Jeffrey Kuhner free rein in Friday's edition. And they did so with the doctored photograph posted above:

President Obama has revealed his true nature. After 20 months in the Oval Office, he still remained a largely unknown figure. A picture is coming into focus now, and it should trouble all Americans. It is widely known that Mr. Obama is a post-national progressive. Yet he is also a cultural Muslim who is promoting an anti-American, pro-Islamic agenda. This is the real meaning of his warm - and completely needless - embrace of the Ground Zero Mosque.

At an Iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan at the White House, Mr. Obama told Muslim-Americans that he supports the building of an Islamic community center and mosque just two blocks away from where the Twin Towers were destroyed and nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered on Sept. 11, 2001. He later tried to back away from those comments. Mr. Obama said he was defending the right of religious freedom but not the "wisdom" of erecting the mosque.

Nonetheless, Mr. Obama has been clear: In his view, the Ground Zero Mosque should be built. There was no good practical reason even to comment on the issue. He had been silent for weeks as the controversy gathered steam. The overwhelming majority of the American people oppose the mosque - especially the families of the Sept. 11 victims. Politically, it is a loser - for him and his party. Yet he could not keep his mouth shut. Why?

Answer: For Mr. Obama, defending Islam has been a key priority of his presidency. In his famous speech in Cairo, Mr. Obama apologized to the Muslim world for the alleged "sins" and "mistakes" of America - even though no country has done more to liberate Islamic peoples than the United States, including campaigns in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. His aim was to engage the Islamic world on its terms and norms rather than defend America's values and national interests.

Mr. Obama openly bragged about his "Muslim background" and that his family had "followers of Islam." He spoke of his youth in Indonesia, his study of the Koran and the call to Islamic prayer. In short, he discovered his inner Muslim in an attempt to ingratiate himself with the Arab street. The message was: I understand you, and I will usher in a new era of Islamic-American relations.

This Mr. Obama has done with a vengeance. He is the most Muslim-friendly president in the nation's history. He wants the detention center at Guantanamo Bay closed. He demands that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, be tried in civilian court - with the full legal and constitutional protections given to U.S. citizens - several blocks from the World Trade Center site. He has ordered that the words "Muslim extremist," "Islamic terrorist" and "jihad" be cleansed from national security documents. He is openly anti-Israel. And he is prematurely withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, threatening to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Israeli military and intelligence officials concede that the administration - through diplomatic back channels - has told Jerusalem that Washington will not bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. The Jews are on their own in confronting the Holocaust-denying dictator President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Obama's tepid sanctions have failed to curb Iran's relentless march toward acquiring the nuclear bomb. This weekend, the Iranian nuclear power plant at Bushehr will begin fueling with enriched uranium. Thus, theocratic Iran is on the cusp of becoming a nuclear power. It is only a matter of time before radical Islam also has the bomb.

Mr. Obama has done everything possible to appease the Muslim world - including, now, backing the Ground Zero Mosque....

Read rest of article....

Israel-Palestine-Gaza Latest: Not So Fast With Those Talks?; Lebanese Aid Ship Delayed

Cracks are appearing this morning in the narrative of warm acceptance, at least on the Palestinian side, of the US formal invitation for direct Israel-Palestine talks on 2 September.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was "very angry" when he heard US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton say that the talks would have no preconditions. Washington reportedly had to call Abbas three times in less than an hour to calm him down and ensure his Yes to the talks.

Israel-Palestine Analysis: Why Did Ramallah Agree to Direct Talks (Yenidunya)

Sherine Tadros of Al Jazeera English adds that half of the members of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization did not attend the PLO's discussion over direct talks, a sign of a possible split in the movement.

On the Gaza front, the Lebanese aid ship Mariam delayed its departure on Saturday after Cyprus denied permission to sail through its waters or to use its ports. Organizers hope to reach a deal with Turkey and/or Greece by Monday.