Today's LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
http://www.lrb.co.uk/...
The Israel Lobby
John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt
Intro:
"For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece 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 is a very important piece. With AIPAC-drafted legislation now pending in both Houses of Congress to cut of all aid to the Palestinians, it is important to understand how the lobby works.
As always, posting a piece like this has its dangers. There are people, liberal and open-minded on every other issue, who see red when anyone criticizes AIPAC.
No need for such sensitivity. AIPAC may be the most powerful foreign policy lobby in Washington but it has a membership of 60-100,000. Most American Jews do not support its positions. AIPAC is to Jews what the NRA is to gunowners. The overwhelming majority of gunowners support reasonable gun control. The overwhelming majority of American Jews and Israelis support the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
In both cases, highly paid lobbyists backed by powerful lobbying organizations and PACs frighten Congress into supporting their positions.
In any case, read this and weep. And understand why US standing in the Middle East is at an all-time low.