As I wrote earlier, a major failing with the “Israel Lobby” conspiratorial mindset propagated by Chas Freeman, his lefty blogger friends (and now swallowed whole by Walter Pincus of the Washington Post and the “news” reporters at the New York Times) is that it pushes a line that is false. To believe that the Israel Lobby doomed Freeman one must not only ignore all of Freeman’s quackery, but the role played by Nancy Pelosi (who was motivated by the concern that we not have a key intelligence post filled by someone who’s ambivalent about the mowing down of human rights protesters.)

As detailed in The Hill, which took the time to talk to Congressmen (reporters do that sort of thing!), the influence of nefarious Jewish forces didn’t factor in. The retort will no doubt be: “Ah, that just proves how masterful the conspiracy is!” Yes, it’s that sort of argument to which Freeman and the Pro-Autocrat Lobby is now reduced. When no facts are available, one is left to spin plots not subject to proof or verification.

And why didn’t Pincus or the Times ask any lawmakers about their motives? You pick — laziness or bias? I suspect it is the same reason they used the religion of certain bloggers as a proxy for mind-reading the motives of those opposing Freeman. In short, they have become convinced of the existence of a nefarious Israel Lobby, so facts no longer matter.

This sort of shoddy thinking makes for poor journalism and poor intelligence work. We now are spared only from Freeman.