US National Security Adviser John Bolton (L) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talk before the start of a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on June 7, 2018. (Photo by Getty Images)
A top adviser at the Pentagon says prominent US officials, including Iran hawks Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security advisor John Bolton, have been taking money and getting rich from the Israeli lobby.
Washingtons support for Tel Aviv is the result of Israeli lobby money, said retired Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor, who was appointed this week as senior adviser to newly installed acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, in two media appearances back in 2012 and 2019.
"You have to look at the people that donate to those individuals," he said in a September 2019 interview when asked if Bolton and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham wanted war with Iran.
"Mr. Bolton has become very, very rich and is in the position hes in because of his unconditional support for the Israeli lobby. He is their man on the ground, in the White House. The same thing is largely true for Mr. Pompeo, he has aspirations to be president. He has his hands out for money from the Israeli lobby, the Saudis and others," he added.
In another interview in 2012, Macgregor stressed that the Israel lobby in the US has "enormous influence" on Congress and that it wanted to instigate "military strikes" with Iran.
"I think the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and its subordinate elements or affiliated elements that represent enormous quantities of money that over many years have cultivated an enormous influence in power in Congress," he told Russias state media network RT.
"I think youve got a lot of people on the Hill who fall into two categories. One category that is interested in money and wants to be re-elected, and they dont want to run the risk of the various lobbies that are pushing military action against Iran to contribute money to their opponents."
AIPAC is known for being the main architect of US policies throughout the Middle East, and has been criticized repeatedly for wielding disproportionate influence in Congress.
The US State Department declined to comment on behalf of Pompeo in response to Macgregors remarks.
Bolton, however, reacted to the disclosure through a spokesman, saying, "I dont respond to anti-Semites."
This is while his financial disclosures show he earned thousands of dollars for speaking to pro-Israel groups prior to his appointment as the White House national security adviser in 2018.
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/21059
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