'A Stinging Defeat' for AIPAC

Netanyahu's US 5th column, AIPAC, bites the dust:

"Officials at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee knew the odds were against them in the fight to block President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran from surviving a congressional vote. But the influential pro-Israel group threw itself into a nearly $30 million advertising and lobbying effort to kill the accord anyway. On Thursday, the committee, known as Aipac, was handed a stinging defeat. After Mr Obama mustered enough Democratic backing in the Senate to halt a vote on a resolution of disapproval against the deal, a group known for its political clout saw its power and reputation in Washington diminished. 'They failed - they couldn't even get a vote,' said Clifford Kupchan, an Iran expert and the chairman of the Eurasia Group, a consulting firm, who noted that Aipac had gone 'all in' and tried everything to stop the deal. 'It's among the biggest setbacks for Aipac in recent memory.'...

But watch this space:

"Aipac now faces a debate within its ranks about how to respond to the defeat, whether by exacting a political price from lawmakers - all of them Democrats - who defied its wishes and supported the Iran deal, or moving swiftly to mend fences with lawmakers and White House officials angered by the group's efforts to kill the deal... 'I think you may see donors withholding or not wanting to write a check to people because they feel betrayed... said Josh Block, the president of the Israel Project, a pro-Israel public relations group." (Influential pro-Israel group suffers stinging political defeat, Julie Hirschfeld, nytimes.com. 10/9/15)

For the background see my posts: Israeli Desires vs American Interests (17/8/15); Made in Israel: America's Next War 1& 2 (18-19/8/15); Zionzilla vs Uncle Sam: An Update (4/9/15)