Andrew, Freeman, Me, Treason, and Dual Loyalty

Andrew asks: "Is Jeffrey accusing Freeman of dual loyalty and treason now? If so, a little clarification is in order. Over to you, Goldblog."

Oy, with the drama. No Goldblog isn't accusing Freeman of "dual loyalty." I leave accusations of "dual loyalty" to others (and you know who you are!)  What I'm suggesting is that Freeman suffers from clientitis, which is a disease sometimes seen in former American ambassadors to Saudi Arabia (among other places). "Clientits" is a common Washington ailment, and it manifests itself in different ways. In the case of diplomats, it causes them to over-identify with the viewpoints of the countries in which they serve. Many people in Washington suffer from variants of clientitis: How many lobbyists, and earmarking congressmen, conflate the needs of a particular industry with the best interests of the U.S.? Answer: A lot. Does this make them treasonous? Of course not.

Do I think there are some people who believe that American self-interest and Israeli self-interest are the same? Yes. Do I believe there are some people who believe that American self-interest and Saudi self-interest are the same? Yes. Are these people treasonous? No, of course not, and not only because Israel and Saudi Arabia aren't at war with the U.S.

In any case, Andrew has posted a long and thoughtful response to my last post, but I'm traveling now (in the Middle East!) and I'm not having great luck with the Internets at the moment, so a fuller response might have to wait until I get back.