We all remember the events of 9/11, but can you remember your thoughts from 9/12? Were you confused, questioning the reason(s) for these attacks? Aren't we the good-guys, fostering human rights, democratic values, and the removal of authoritarian rulers? Clearly, there must be, or must have been, something about our foreign policy in the Middle East to cause such hate and anger toward us. Do you find President Bush's attempted explanation that "... they hate us for our freedom and our democracy" as weak and totally inadequate?
Well, this book isn't intended to answer the question as to why we were attacked on 9/11, but it does attempt to address some of the claims of unequal treatment toward peoples in the Middle East, and how or why some of the U.S. policies anger Muslim nations. It also might give some insight into why Arab leaders often claim that this Country is "controlled by the Jews" or by Jewish interests. We tend to trust our media and policy makers as fair and even handed, because they tell us they are. But if you're looking for a critical review of those statements, this book is a good place to start. I found this to be an eye-opening and enlightening book, and should be interesting to anyone groping for a deeper understanding of how some of our policies in the mid-east are developed and applied and how that affects us all.
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https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/review-essay/2007-11-01/jerusalem-syndrom...

No simple resolution. The militancy of the Palestinian politicos continues to increase. ( )

Clear, comprehensive record of U.S.-Israeli relations in the Middle East during the first decade of the 21st century. ( )

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2007

In March 2006 Mearsheimer and Walt published in number 6 of volume 28 of the London Review of Books a ten page article titled "The Israel Lobby". In that paper, the authors questioned the wisdom of the U.S. close relationship with Israel and the influence that the group of individuals and institutions they termed The Israel Lobby has in shapping that policy. This book, with more than three hundred and fifty pages plus notes, considerably extend the argument and provides a weealth of supporting references for their claim in more than one hundred fine printed pages of notes. The way the Israel lobby has been able to influence U.S. foreign policy is no secret to anyone interested in Middle Eastern and Israeli affairs and the same type of evidence is common knowledge in Europe, and has been repeatedly shown in the U.S. by writers such as Chomsky, Finkelstein, or Findley. But to see this argued by two pillars of the U.S. academic establishment is indeed a novelty, and one that outraged the lobby: after all, they could not dismiss the authors by calling them anti-semites, or member of the radical fringe, and they could hardly honestly contest the carefuly amassed and referenced evidence produced in the book. Is this the first crack on the most taboo issue in the U.S. foreign policy: its unswerving support for Israel? Given the role of the lobby in shapping the U.S. position vis-à-vis Iraq, Syria, Iran, Palestine, and its general regional policies, and given the counterproductive nature of its influence for the U.S. (and for Israel...) standing in the region, I would very much hope the answer to be yes! ( )

I recently saw an Intelligence Squared Debate (http://intelligencesquaredus.org/index.php/past-debates/the-us-should-step-back-from-its-special-relationship-with-israel/) where the motion called for the US to step back from its special relationship with Israel. Roger Cohen of the New York Times and Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University argued for the motion and in fact won the debate. The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt makes a similar argument in a comprehensively researched and well written narrative. The genesis of the book was in an article commmissioned by the Atlantic Monthly in the fall of 2002. The authors worked on the project for about two years but their manuscript, incorporating most of the suggestions made by the magazine, was rejected in January 2005. The authors finally managed to publish the article in the London Review of Books in March 2006. The publication of the article led to a storm of protest and controversy, and severe criticism. The book represents the authors' attempt to respond to the criticism and to present a more detailed case with an extensive list of references and notes.

The book is divided in two sections. Part 1 deals with the special relationship that exists between the United States and Israel. The authors examine the reasons advanced by defenders of the relationship - is Israel an important strategic asset or is it actually a liability to US interests in the Middle East? The authors think it is the latter. They also question the moral justification of continued US economic, military and diplomatic support of Israel. Part 1 also identifies the loose collection of lobbyists, journalists and special interest groups that are collectively called "The Israel Lobby". The authors are at pains to emphasize that these groups are not necessarily coordinated or centrally organized and they are well within their democratic rights to influence US policy in a direction they deem most beneficial to both the United States and Israel.
Part 2 extensively discusses the affects of the lobby on US policy in the Middle East. It is in this section that the authors make their boldest claims. At least one of the conclusions, that the United States would not have invaded Iraq had the lobby not existed is difficult to accept. However, the authors make convincing arguments on the looby's potentially harmful long term affects on US interests in the Middle East. The chapters on Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and its conduct of the 2006 war in Lebanon are essential reading.

Debate about the relationship between the United States and Israel is unnaturally muted in the American media and this book makes a strong case for changing the status quo. The authors claim there is more debate within Israel than there is in the US media and their extensive bibliography is testament to that claim. I don't necessarily agree with all of the arguments made by Messrs Walt and Mearsheimer but this is an important book and I highly recommend it. ( )