KAAA-PING!!
Only the most radical liberals believe we should just let the Arabs push the Jews into the sea.
Mearsheimer and Walt are going to get pounded into the ground over their paper. They deserve it.
... but... but... but Pat Buchanan (and his ever-ready chorus of online apologists) says there is too, is too! Oh, who to believe...?!? < /sarcasm>
"Over the course of four tours in the White House, I never once saw a decision in the Oval Office to tilt U.S. foreign policy in favor of Israel at the expense of America's interest."
That's really the most important line of the article. As another commentator pointed out earlier this week, we must ask ourselves why these researchers feel that there is something nefarious about AIPAC, but say nothing about the lobby for relations with any other nation. The entire point of the study seems to be the accusation that Jews are not loyal to the US... and yes... that IS anti-semitism
Right; and the present gang of GOPers are conservatives.
I do think there is an Israel lobby. On the other hand, our policy is being guided more by other factors, particularly of late.
"Over the course of four tours in the White House, I never once saw a decision in the Oval Office to tilt U.S. foreign policy in favor of Israel at the expense of America's interest."
One sentence of clarity vs. 82 pages of BS.
You may all grovel.
David Gergen stumbles upon the truth. It's enough to renew your hope.
Maybe the question that should be asked is whether it is possible for America's interests and Israel's interests in terms of Middle East politics and policies to ever differ?
As David McCullough writes, Harry Truman recognized Israel in 1948 out of humanitarian concerns and in spite of pressure from Jewish groups, not because of it.
That's a straw man or a red herring. Clearly Truman wouldn't bend to pressure. Indeed, he might turn against those who tried to pressure him. That's probably what he's getting at with the "in spite of." And in fact there wasn't much to pressure Truman with. Recognizing Israel still didn't win him New York or New Jersey in 1948.
But pressure isn't the only form of influence. If Truman came to see things in the same light as the Zionists, it could be a sign that their efforts at getting their message out and framing the situation were successful. Of course, it could also be true that Truman was inclined to go their way, and Zionists didn't need to put in the effort. But Gergen offers such a narrow view of what lobbies and lobbyists do, that it's hard to take him seriously. He thinks it refutes the view he attacks, but his naivete does a lot to undermine his own argument.
I don't mind that there is an Israel lobby. Credit to the Israelis for being able to exercise so much influence on the US. However, all Americans should be loyal to the USA first and NOT make the mistake that the two countries' interests are 100% aligned. 1. WE need oil. 2. WE need security 3. WE need to have talking relations even with Israel's enemies in order to make progress anywhere. I admire the Israelis tremendously for what they have acheived in building their nation. However it would be foolish for America to ignore the rest of the world and continue to blindly follow Israel policy