Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Walt + Mearsheimer +J Carter + Baker = this

US survey raises eyebrows in Jerusalem

A survey by a respected journal showing that 15 of 108 foreign policy elites in the US believe Israel does not serve US national security interests has raised eyebrows in Jerusalem. It precedes the publication in early September of a book by two US professors slamming the Israel-US alliance.

The journal, Foreign Policy, on Monday published its "terrorism index," asking a bipartisan group of former "secretaries of state, national security advisors, senior White House aides, top commanders in the US military, seasoned intelligence professionals, and distinguished academics" a variety of questions having to do with US national security issues.

When given a list of US allies and asked to choose the one country that least serves US national security interests, 14 percent of the respondents picked Israel.

Russia led the list, with 34% saying it least served US interests, followed by 22% who said Pakistan, 17% who selected Saudi Arabia, and 5% each for Egypt and Mexico.

The journal billed the respondents, whose names were not supplied, as America's "top foreign-policy experts." Forty-five of the respondents described themselves as Democrats, 24 as Republicans, and the rest as Independents.

One diplomatic official in Jerusalem, while acknowledging that 14% is a considerable minority, said he was still worried by the trend.

"Considering the closeness and importance of our ties with Washington, this is something we need to watch," he said.

The official said that while in the past the notion that the US alliance with Israel harmed US interests was a belief relegated to individuals on the far right, such as Pat Buchanan, and the far left, like Noam Chomsky, this survey indicated that the idea was gaining prominence among the elites.

This idea is starting to make it into the mainstream, the official said, citing as an example a paper published last year by University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer and Harvard University's Stephen Walt arguing that the US was willing to "set aside its own security" to advance Israel's interests because of AIPAC and the Israel lobby.

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9 comments:

Pastorius said...

Oh, for God's sake.

I don't know what to say.

Epaminondas said...

If we assume that the people polled are indeed experts and influence makers ... then the idea of grasping at straws to get out from under this mess which cannot be escaped is gaining momentum.

Expect more.
Just imagine these guys being favorably questioned by John Conyers under President Obama about why we should go on 'blindly supporting Israel which can offer us no natural resources which we need' because a few people in the USA have undue influence and dual loyalties.

This war is being fought on a shitload of fronts

Pastorius said...

Yes, Epa. And, that's why I said, "I don't know what to say."

It begins to seem overwhelming.

When things are overwhelming, I try to return to basic principles. The defense of Freedom applies here.

Israel is worth defending and having as an ally, because it is a free nation.

In fact, obviously, it is the only free nation in that whole region of the world.

For God's sake, I don't know how some people can not understand that, or why it's so important?

Epaminondas said...

"For God's sake, I don't know how some people can not understand that, or why it's so important?"

Human are not weak.
They are terribly weak.

Anything which smacks of a logic to escape this situation without facing what must be faced IS going to be grasped at.

This knowledge is EXACTLY what the Iranians see (for instance). Only they see people running around the decks of Titanic stealing the lifejackets of women and children.

We give the impression, with this type of item ..to OTHERS WHO MEAN US ILL HERE, of a ship going down while wise men pronounce that by getting rid of the heaviest lifeboat, we can slow down the rate of submergence.

BEfore this is over, watch and see ..ALL STRAWS WILL BE GRASPED.

Bet on it

Pastorius said...

Those are profound thoughts Epa.

You ought to turn that into a short post.

Anonymous said...

A while back we had a similiar thing, which did rightly cause outrage here, amd the editor had to make a an apology

Pastorius said...

Sadly, I must say Jonz, I don't think that's going to happen this time.

It just ain't the climate right now.

What do you think, Epa?

Epaminondas said...

not a prayer

Pastorius said...

There you go.

(Wipes tear from eye.)

By the way, this shit ain't any fun, is it? We try to make it fun, and it's a good thing we do, but it's a royal fucking pain in the ass.

I guess I just gotta remember that our soldiers have it much, much worse.

And sadly, it's going to get worse still.