David Bromwich has posted a rather astute article at Huffington Post that attempts to bring attention once again to the report prepared by By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt that describes Israeli influence in American foreign policy and brings into question certain senior staff choices in the Bush administration and their allegiances. Mr. Bromwich is a brave man for doing so.

"Last Tuesday, when the mass media were crammed to distraction with the behavior of a senator in an airport washroom, few could be troubled to notice an important speech by President Bush. If Iran is allowed to persist in its present state, the president told the American Legion convention in Reno, it threatens "to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." He said he had no intention of allowing that; and so he has "authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities."[1]

"Convicted for deceptions around Iran-Contra, as Lewis Libby was convicted for deceptions stemming from Iraq--and pardoned by the elder Bush just as Libby had his sentence commuted by the younger--Abrams now presides over the Middle East desk at the National Security Council." ..."The man at the Middle East desk of the National Security Council wrote in 1997 in his book Faith or Fear: "there can be no doubt that Jews, faithful to the covenant between God and Abraham, are to stand apart from the nation in which they live. It is the very nature of being Jewish to be apart--except in Israel--from the rest of the population." When he wrote those words, Abrams probably did not expect to serve in another American administration. He certainly did not expect to occupy a position that would require him to weigh the national interest of Israel, the country with which he confessed himself uniquely at one, alongside the national interest of a country in which he felt himself to stand "apart...from the rest of the population." Now that he is calling the shots against Hamas and Hezbollah, Damascus and Tehran, his words of 1997 ought to alarm us into reflection."[1]

The Bromwich article [1], Iraq, Israel, Iran is an assessment of current events related to the revelations in the report by By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt [2] entitled, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.

"...the Lobby strives to ensure that public discourse about Israel portrays it in a positive light, by repeating myths about Israel and its founding and by publicizing Israel's side in the policy debates of the day. The goal is to prevent critical commentary about Israel from getting a fair hearing in the political arena. Controlling the debate is essential to guaranteeing U.S. support, because a candid discussion of U.S.-Israeli relations might lead Americans to favor a different policy."[2]

If nothing else, at least read the Bromwich article to understand what may be currently afoot in the Middle East. The PDF report should also be read - and if you would rather have an html version to read, try here.

For all of you Wikipedia fans out there, a fairly useful discussion with many links to prominent responses to the report has been presented.

"The Anti-Defamation League published an analysis of the paper which described it as "amateurish and biased critique of Israel, American Jews, and American policy" and a "sloppy diatribe"."

"The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a media watchdog group monitoring perceived anti-Israel coverage, published a detailed critique of the paper, claiming that it was "riddled with errors of fact, logic and omission, has inaccurate citations, displays extremely poor judgement regarding sources, and, contrary to basic scholarly standards, ignores previous serious work on the subject"."

Access the Wikipedia discussion here.

A rejoinder to the report was published here by the authors in response to various critics, one of whom was Martin Kramer. A perusal of his blog should provide equal time against the report.

You can find additional articles related to the report, both pro and con, by typing the report title into Google or by typing just "Mearsheimer Walt".

You can also review dated Pro-Israel PAC Contributions to 2004 Congressional Candidates in order to assess the extent of influence in Congress.

At the end of the day, it is you who decides, based upon the substance within the report and the rebuttals, whether too much foreign influence by the Israeli "lobby" is exerted in the U.S. and whether Israeli interests are U.S. interests.

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9.4.2007

coldsteeledge.com