In America's Best Interests ?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

A fascinating, disturbing study.

Snippets:

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centerpiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.

Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby’. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

....

During the Clinton administration, Middle Eastern policy was largely shaped by officials with close ties to Israel or to prominent pro-Israel organisations; among them, Martin Indyk, the former deputy director of research at AIPAC and co-founder of the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP); Dennis Ross, who joined WINEP after leaving government in 2001; and Aaron Miller, who has lived in Israel and often visits the country. These men were among Clinton’s closest advisers at the Camp David summit in July 2000. Although all three supported the Oslo peace process and favoured the creation of a Palestinian state, they did so only within the limits of what would be acceptable to Israel. The American delegation took its cues from Ehud Barak, co-ordinated its negotiating positions with Israel in advance, and did not offer independent proposals. Not surprisingly, Palestinian negotiators complained that they were ‘negotiating with two Israeli teams – one displaying an Israeli flag, and one an American flag’.

The situation is even more pronounced in the Bush administration, whose ranks have included such fervent advocates of the Israeli cause as Elliot Abrams, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, I. Lewis (‘Scooter’) Libby, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and David Wurmser. As we shall see, these officials have consistently pushed for policies favoured by Israel and backed by organisations in the Lobby.

The Lobby doesn’t want an open debate, of course, because that might lead Americans to question the level of support they provide. Accordingly, pro-Israel organisations work hard to influence the institutions that do most to shape popular opinion.

The Lobby’s perspective prevails in the mainstream media: the debate among Middle East pundits, the journalist Eric Alterman writes, is ‘dominated by people who cannot imagine criticising Israel’. He lists 61 ‘columnists and commentators who can be counted on to support Israel reflexively and without qualification’. Conversely, he found just five pundits who consistently criticise Israeli actions or endorse Arab positions. Newspapers occasionally publish guest op-eds challenging Israeli policy, but the balance of opinion clearly favours the other side. It is hard to imagine any mainstream media outlet in the United States publishing a piece like this one.

‘Shamir, Sharon, Bibi – whatever those guys want is pretty much fine by me,’ Robert Bartley once remarked. Not surprisingly, his newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, along with other prominent papers like the Chicago Sun-Times and the Washington Times, regularly runs editorials that strongly support Israel. Magazines like Commentary, the New Republic and the Weekly Standard defend Israel at every turn.

Editorial bias is also found in papers like the New York Times, which occasionally criticises Israeli policies and sometimes concedes that the Palestinians have legitimate grievances, but is not even-handed. In his memoirs the paper’s former executive editor Max Frankel acknowledges the impact his own attitude had on his editorial decisions: ‘I was much more deeply devoted to Israel than I dared to assert . . . Fortified by my knowledge of Israel and my friendships there, I myself wrote most of our Middle East commentaries. As more Arab than Jewish readers recognised, I wrote them from a pro-Israel perspective.’

And it gets even more interesting.

http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/A0040.pdf

Edited and reworked version at http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html

[mawilson 2,133]

I'm surprised you have only just discovered it. It has been around for quite some time and

caused enough controversy...

[Nikita2Charles 32]

IT's all about Lobbyst whoever got the most money to buy the politician!!

Surprise how can the Arabs with all that oil money doesn't join the game, and buy out a few lobbyist themselves in Washington, even so where's the UNITY< it's all about talk, talk and no action, with So much money in the Gulf, why they have to depend so much on Foreigners, As muslims and Arabs with so much wealth can a litte bit of that pass along to their neighbors"????

[Ric Flair 0]

Why does the U.S. give money to Israel? What benefit do we receive in return?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I'm surprised you have only just discovered it. It has been around for quite some time and

caused enough controversy...

Why would you assume that I have only just discovered it ?

I've been well aware of this report since it was first published.

[almaty 19]

Why does the U.S. give money to Israel? What benefit do we receive in return?

good avatar ..and welcome ric..the mature boy

[Ric Flair 0]

Why does the U.S. give money to Israel? What benefit do we receive in return?

good avatar ..and welcome ric..the mature boy

Thanks! I think it is the nature boy though

[mawilson 2,133]

I'm surprised you have only just discovered it. It has been around for quite some time and

caused enough controversy...

Why would you assume that I have only just discovered it ?

I've been well aware of this report since it was first published.

Because you didn't share it until now; though I suspected that you had read it --

many thoughts and ideas that I saw in your posts might as well have been written

by Mearsheimer and Walt.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

I'm surprised you have only just discovered it. It has been around for quite some time and

caused enough controversy...

Why would you assume that I have only just discovered it ?

I've been well aware of this report since it was first published.

Because you didn't share it until now; though I suspected that you had read it --

many thoughts and ideas that I saw in your posts might as well have been written

by Mearsheimer and Walt.

Welllllll..... sorry to break to ya, but such thoughts and ideas have been in my head (and in quite a few other Americans' heads, too) for a longggg time before this paper was published.

Actually, I was having a conversation about this last night, in reference to current events in the news, and that prompted me to share the links here today in a couple of places.

As you might guess, due to my specific interest in, experience with, and personal connection to Palestine, I have archives and archives of stuff relating to Palestinian and Israeli issues. But there's no need to put everything on the table all at once It took me years to absorb it, and I'm not even done yet !

[Ric Flair 0]

As you might guess, due to my specific interest in, experience with, and personal connection to Palestine, I have archives and archives of stuff relating to Palestinian and Israeli issues.

Are you a government worker or is your interest soley due to family and/or spousal relationship?

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

As you might guess, due to my specific interest in, experience with, and personal connection to Palestine, I have archives and archives of stuff relating to Palestinian and Israeli issues.

Are you a government worker or is your interest soley due to family and/or spousal relationship?

No, I'm not a government employee.

My interest in, and travels to, the region began long before I met my husband.

[Ric Flair 0]

As you might guess, due to my specific interest in, experience with, and personal connection to Palestine, I have archives and archives of stuff relating to Palestinian and Israeli issues.

Are you a government worker or is your interest soley due to family and/or spousal relationship?

No, I'm not a government employee.

My interest in, and travels to, the region began long before I met my husband.

What inspired your interest?

[mawilson 2,133]

Welllllll..... sorry to break to ya, but such thoughts and ideas have been in my head (and in quite a few other Americans' heads, too) for a longggg time before this paper was published.

Not only Americans. I've met and had discussions with many British academics

who share your point of view to a T. Your list of web sites is almost the same

as their lists (although you never mentioned onestate.org -- a movement for one

secular democratic state) and I've heard the same arguments before.

That's not to say that you don't have any valid points; I may disagree with your

interpretation of events, but I can certainly see where you're coming from.

[incanada1234 0]

Why does the U.S. give money to Israel? What benefit do we receive in return?

The benefit is the approval of God.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Why does the U.S. give money to Israel? What benefit do we receive in return?

The benefit is the approval of God.

God help religious extremists everywhere.