At Last, Our Policy in Israel/Palestine Is on the American Agenda
This is good news: the issue is getting into the Times, and on front pages elsewhere.
The credit all goes to Walt and Mearsheimer. A few weeks back, the New Republic sniggered at the authors of the LRB paper on the Israel lobby, making it out to be a flash in the pan. Oh they got their little moment in the leftwing sun, how quickly they evaporated, was Marty Peretz's tone. Well he's wrong. This was a real bombshell that is reverberating. As I first reported last Sunday, and then as Gabriel Sanders reported in this week's Forward, FSG has given the authors a book contract (at last); and meanwhile the front page of the influential New York Sun has run an attack on Tony Judt, who had lately argued on behalf of Walt and Mearsheimer's views. These ideas are not going away.
I sense that we're approaching a real political moment; and good for Lieberman for putting the issue on the agenda. Let's have it out. Before long, who knows, maybe Chris Matthews will describe the settlements in the West Bank as what they are, religious apartheid, and Senator Hagel, or Senator Lamont, will ask, What effect these violations of the Geneva Conventions that we support are having on Arab hearts and minds... Am I dreamin'?
"I sense that we're approaching a real political moment ... Am I dreamin'?"
God, I hope not. It's gone too far.
I think you are being optimistic. Its like the single political party portrayed as a two party system, corporate controlled america, etc. There issues has been raised over and over, even by presidential candidates. But it does not change a thing and the country will go on being this way.
Also, isn't Israel's usefullness as a American's attack dog in the middle east supposedly to have been shattered by their embarassing invasion attempt into Lebanon? How come, according to many left wing "America the hegemonist" thinkers, the US is not dropping Israel like a hot potato and cozying up with the proven regional power Hezbollah?
Walt & Mearsheimer are no different than Mel Gibson.
Sorry for the double post, but I just remembered The Forward's coverage of an event including Walt, Mearsheimer, Judt, Ross and Indyk.
Dennis Ross said that some of their facts were just plain wrong. He was there and it never happened.
Tony Judt said that American Jews could not tell the difference between Israel's interests and America's interest. He did not say that the Israel lobby, AIPAC, or the neo-cons, he said "American Jews".
Well, American Jews continue to vote Democratic even despite the GOP's support for Israel. Shmuel Rosner wrote in Haaretz about a survey of American rabbis who now think that the GOP has more concern for Israel than the Democrats. He doubted if that would turn into a large Jewish vote for the GOP and he doubted it. I agree with him. As James Baker once so eloquently said, "F--- the Jews," the don't vote for us anyway."