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Title: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
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Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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| The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Shock and Awe! | I first heard of Mearsheimer and Walt about a year ago when I read their first paper on the influence of the Israeli lobby in Washington politics. A month later, I saw a powerful Dutch documentary on Tegentlicht- "The Israel Lobby". It completely changed my perception of the workings in Washington DC. I was privileged enough to receive an email from Professor Mearsheimer prior to the release of his book after writing Congress about this to which I sent him a copy of my letter. Once the book came out, I read it in less than a few days.
It was gripping, powerful, detailed, disturbing, and quite compelling. The books speaks for itself- powerful interests in Washington have a vested interest in protecting the interests of Israel and at the expense of this country's own interest. There are numerous examples of this throughout the post World War II era, i.e., arms dealing (especially top notch hi-tech weaponry that no other ally has access to), billions of dollars in grants and loans (which are often forgiven), interference in domestic politics in terms of elections, and vetoing UN resolutions that are critical of Israel. Moreover, the Israeli Lobby is able to largely get away with this due to its effective promoting and marketing of "antisemitism" when there is any criticism of Israel regardless if it is warranted or not. Furthermore, Mearsheimer and Walt argue that the war in Iraq was mainly fought to protect Israel and much of the support came from Israeli supported interests, i.e., AIPAC, that have backed many election campaigns throughout this country. However, they note as well that this was not the only factor but the most significant factor leading up to the war. Many may argue that oil was the reason we went into Iraq. Although Mearsheimer and Walt argue that this was indeed a factor, it was only a side factor. I happen to agree- otherwise, we would be invading other countries with oil like Venezeula, Nigeria, Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea. Now we are starting to see the same thing in Iran. I just recently read an article where Shell Oil pulled out of Iran due to pressure from the Bush administration- one has to really think about the interests behind this. Moreover, there is all this hype about attacking Iran. I think more than anything oil companies want to have access to oil regardless of who is in power. It just shows that special interests other than oil want to shape our Middle East Foreign Policy and the direction it points to is the direction of the Israeli Lobby. Highly recommended.
| | The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Well written book, but based on false premise leading to the wrong conclusion | This is a very well written book, with comprehensive thesis, well thought out structure and easy to read and comprehend. However, the book has many flaws, the primary of which is its false premise and hence wrong conclusion.
To start out, it's crucial to note that it's not an anti-semitic book, as the Zionists and Jews like to point out anything that has an anti-Israeli subject. In fact, throughout the book the authors continuously discuss this topic and spend a great deal on rebuffing this sort of criticism in the preface and introduction which is important since this topic is very much part of their thesis.
The thesis of the book is simple: support of the Jewish state of Israel cannot be explained on geopolitical or moral basis because it's against America's interest to support it, especially in a heinous way it does. That is not to be confused with supporting its existence. The authors state very clearly and loudly that US should defend Israel and immediately come to its aid if its physical or even political existence is in danger. However, supporting its near apartheid, radical policies towards the Palestinians is not in America's interest. Given this premise, the conclusion is that America's huge financial, military and diplomatic support of Israel is attributed mostly to Israel lobby.
The plot of the book proceeds as follows. The authors start out by providing evidence of the deep financial support US provides to Israel, much of which is unprecedented in America's history of foreign aid. It makes many exceptions in US law, gives it huge loans which are not meant to be repaid and collects extremely small interest rate, if at all. Its military support, needless to say, is also extremely extensive, making Israeli military the most advanced in the world, 2nd only to the US. In fact, some of the military provided to Israel is made in the US specifically for Israel - much of useless for America itself. Furthermore, it provides extensive diplomatic support to Israel, never seen before, examples of which include voting against UN Security Council Resolutions that seek to condemn Israel for its policies and human rights violations.
Having established these facts, the authors move on to define and describe the lobby, which includes many influential organizations, groups, political action committees (PAC's) and etc. They follow that by describing their working methods, tactics and generally speaking, lobbying process used to influence America's foreign policy towards Israel and in the Middle East in general.
This is where the flaws of the book begin. Since the authors seek to establish the premise of the book by making the case that neither geopolitical nor moral basis can be established to justify the extensive support of Israel, they must refute both claims. While the authors do a somewhat good job in refuting the moral case (by citing polls mostly), they come well short in refuting geopolitical basis. They cite some people, such as Noam Chomsky, who believe that America's support for Israel can be attributed to America's geopolitical interest in the Middle East, such as military and economic hegemony and petroleum. Yet their analysis is, to say the least, incomplete. The basis of their analysis rests on a very simplistic view: America has no interest in supporting Israel because it ruins America's image in the Arab/Muslim world, which goes beyond just Middle East. Therefore, they believe, the support of the state of Israel cannot be attributed to America's geopolitical interests. It's an incomplete analysis because they do little (a few pages treatment) to refute those claims. But it's also wrong, because it assumes that America's image in the Middle East is the only principle that matters. They absolutely do not discuss other geopolitical interests at work, such as discussed by Noam Chomsky and others. Their refutation is that "there is not much evidence on public record" to support such claims. And that is utterly false.
They conclude the book by discussing America's policies towards Syria and Iran, again attributing America's policies towards these countries as being the result of Israel lobby, and dedicate their last chapter to discussing ways to reduce the influence of such lobby groups and if possible, dissolve them altogether.
Overall, it can be an informative book in terms of finding out about the inner workings of the Israel lobby groups, their tactics and methods, and also learning the basics of America's foreign policy in the Middle East. As mentioned before, the book is well written, easy to read and comprehend. However, its assumptions are simplistic, premise flawed, analysis incomplete and conclusion simply false. Nonetheless, I recommend reading this book but doing it with a healthy dose of skepticism.
| | The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Failure of Democracy | | A splendid, well researched tome on how money buys influence to pander to dogma. The annotations are impeccable. | | The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux The Israeli Lobby | This book initially angered me so much that I had to stop reading it for awhile. I could not, or did not, want to believe what it said. A week or two after the initial anger, I decided to sit down and read it and it is an eye opener.
I find the evidence compelling and I agree to the extent that I believe our government has been manipulated into a lop-sided foreign policy favoring only Israel -- something that has to change if we are to become an honest broker in any peace attempt in the region. I've seen too much of the destruction rendered by Israel's bombs in Lebanon to believe anything else.
That these authors had the courage to swim against the tide of popular opinion in the U.S., however misguided that opinion may be, is a credit to their effort. Whether all of their statements are fact will be up to the historians. But what they say is, for me, substantive. | | The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Comprehensive study, Great Book | | They displayed the highest level of academic integrity as well as an unbiased look into the influence of the Israeli Lobby. | | The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Product Description | The Israel Lobby,” by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Mearsheimer and Walt provocatively contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America’s posture throughout the Middle East—in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and the policies it has encouraged are in neither America’s national interest nor Israel’s long-term interest. The lobby’s influence also affects America’s relationship with important allies and increases dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror. Writing in The New York Review of Books, Michael Massing declared, “Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’ in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such force.” The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is certain to widen the debate and to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. |
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