The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy | John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy | John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt | wonderfully worded, honest, accurate, and up to date.

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The Israel Lobby a...

	The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 192 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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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All the stars in the sky wouldn't be enough to rate this book

Simply put, this is the most important political book of our day. Mearsheimer and Walt bravely take on one of the last remaining taboos in our society today. Exhaustively researched, this book is a treasure trove of information.

Mearsheimer and Walt clearly lay out that Israel has not only not been a strategic asset as claimed, but has been an enormous strategic liability. Drawing on mainstream sources and Israeli sources, this book explains in simple terms how the lobby pushed us into a war with Iraq for the benefit of Israel, and is now tirelessly engaged in creating a war with Iran.

It is near impossible to have a sober understanding of US policy in the Middle East absent this book. The book ends on an optimistic note, and lays out a clear strategy of where America and the lobby should go from here.

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wonderfully worded, honest, accurate, and up to date.

A well done tretise opening a long overdue discussion regarding a sensitive, timely subject. We need to open this up!!

Fast delivery, great book

I hope everyone who is interested in Israel will read this book as well as other countries' lobbist. There is a lot to learn from these.

Sensitive Issues

This book takes on highly sensitive issues and it deserves credit for doing so in a thoughtful manner. The authors make it very clear that the Israel lobby is not monolithic, it is not conspiratorial and its activities have been and are perfectly legal. M&W endeavor to explain how the lobby has influenced US foreign policy, mainly since the Carter administration. I find their case rather persuasive, though the chapters on Iraq and Iran feel unresolved, which is understandable, with Iraq currently under US occupation and the issue of Iranian nuclear capability being arguably too current to sort out well. At some point I need to reread at least the Iran chapter and I will try to get a better grasp on the issues therein.
The authors also address the painful issue of anti-Semitism and the difficulty (sometimes) of correctly identifying when that is present. They agree that the American people are pro-Israel quite naturally. In other words, Americans don't need much, if any, prodding to be favorably disposed towards Israel. However, they note that ironically there is greater freedom to criticize Israel in Israel than in the US. The authors suggest that the lobby has been somewhat heavy-handed in its efforts to shape both public opinion and foreign policy, sifting practically everything through the lens of whether it is 'good for Israel'. Here again we encounter irony: it's debatable whether our post-9/11 neoconservative policies have actually helped Israel or just unleashed a lot of negative unintended consequences, chief among them an Iran with more regional sway.
The authors argue that the constant use of a pro-Israel litmus test is an impediment to US policy. Here I quote Carter's infamous recent book: "...there is little doubt that the lack of a persistent effort to resolve the Palestinian issue is a major source of anti-American sentiment and terrorist activity throughout the Middle East and the Islamic world." Many Americans reacted to the despicable 9/11 attacks by wondering Why do they hate us? Maybe a better question is Why are many Americans so uninformed? No, really, the Israel lobby cannot be blamed for that.

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