In the Middle East

by Cliopatria

Glenn Frankel,"A Beautiful Friendship?" Washington Post, 16 July, revisits the issues raised in the article by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt about the Israeli lobby's influence in Washington.

Chris Bray recommends Phil Carter's"An Object Lesson in the Importance of Standards" at Intel Dump. A graduate of UCLA's law school, Carter is now deployed as a captain in the 101st Airborne Division. He's written before about the problem of ignoring standards for recruitment and retention in the military. Steven D. Green, an unemployed high school dropout with three misdemeanor convictions by the age of 19, was recruited by the army. Now, he stands charged with rape and murder in Iraq.

Our colleagues in the Middle East – Mechal Sobel in Haifa, Israel, Hala Fattah in Amman, Jordan, and Chris Bray in Kuwait – are in our thoughts and prayers. I have been in touch with Chris and Mechal this morning. Mechal writes:

Thank you very much for your note.
Zvi and I are sitting at home (as per instructions). We are given a one minute warning of shells arriving, and can hear the shells as they hit ground. We are that close (and hope to be no closer) but we cannot do anything either.
It appears there is a lunch break for those shelling us as it's now 1:30 and the city is very quiet. (All the stores, the university, and all other facilities, except for the hospitals, have closed now.) I am going back to work (writing), or so I plan.
With very best wishes,
Mechal

Fifteen minutes later, she sent a"P.S. Lunch is over."

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David M Fahey - 7/17/2006

Ethnic lobbies rise and decline and sometimes disappear. In the future it seems likely that the fastest growing minority--Hispanic--will develop lobbying muscle. I recall during the Falklands crisis somebody saying that it might be the last time that the American government would align itself with the UK against a Hispanic government more or less automatically. I assume that the growing Asian American groups also will try to influence the policies of the American government. Americans of East Asian and South Asian origin are becoming prominent in technology and the professions and to some extent as entrepreneurs. On most foreign policy issues African Americans remain a sleeping giant who sooner or later will awake. Talk about an Arab lobby is complicated by the fact that so many Arab Americans are Christians, while speculation about a Muslim lobby is complicated by the fact that so many American Muslims are also African Americans. The future is not easily predicted, but it seems safe to expect that the playing field for ethnic lobbies will become much more crowded than it is today.

Jonathan Dresner - 7/17/2006

Listening to Walt, you get the sense that he believes there is one correct and objective foreign policy that an enlightened elite would be able to agree upon if only those grubby ethnic interest groups were not out there playing politics.

He denies it, of course, but it's all over the original article.

Jonathan Dresner - 7/17/2006

Not as many problems as I have, to be sure, but if you're looking for evidence one way or the other you might consider looking at editorials concerning Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11, which makes the Saud-Bush relationship one of its central themes (I'm told; still haven't seen it).

Ralph E. Luker - 7/16/2006

Yes, I do consider the WaPo article serious. That's why I linked to it and wouldn't link to your attack on it.

Grant W Jones - 7/16/2006

I just fixed that, oops. So, rightwing "rags" are okay to ridicule, but not leftwing "rags."

You need to work on proper definition for the word "ally." FYI, diplomacy can't paper over profound philosophical differences.

"Or do you consider lenghty articles on the "Zionist Lobby" a "serious contribution?" Do tell." Not interested in addressing that issue are you?

Grant W Jones - 7/16/2006

Thanks, Prof. Dresner. How could I have forgotten that? Do you remember if the New York Times or the Washington Compost had any problem with Bush's handholding with the vile theocratic thug Crown Prince Abdullah?

Ralph E. Luker - 7/16/2006

You need to proof read your "analysis." You mean the Washington Post, not the Washington Times, which is a rightwing rag. If, in fact, Israel is the United States' only ally in the Middle East, which is incorrect, that alone would be reason to rethink its position. Smart diplomacy doesn't leave itself isolated.

Grant W Jones - 7/16/2006

Here is a longer analysis for your edification:

http://kalapanapundit.blogspot.com/2006/07/no-doubt-about-it-media-is-enemy.html

Grant W Jones - 7/16/2006

Unlike your repeated references to "Frontpagerag?"

Or do you consider lenghty articles on the "Zionist Lobby" a "serious contribution?" Do tell.

Jonathan Dresner - 7/16/2006

As far as I know, the largest Arab world owner of Western Media is the Saudi stake in Fox News.... which has indeed paid dividends in news coverage, most famously in the coverage of the recent French riots.

Ralph E. Luker - 7/16/2006

And what about it? If you intended to make a serious contribution to discussion, you'd do some of the hard work of serious analysis and avoid dumb references to the Washington Compost. Quick polemical retort just won't do.

Grant W Jones - 7/16/2006

Ah yes, the "Zionist lobby," the MSM wouldn't want us to forget that chestnut at this time.

Was there any mention of the Arab Lobby backed by billions in petrodollars? How about the influence of "our friends" the Saudis? Perhaps, the Washington Compost has certain middle Eastern stockholders it's beholden to.

Robert KC Johnson - 7/16/2006

The Carter article is fascinating--and on an issue that's gotten nowhere near the media attention it deserves. So much of American military strategy over the past 20 years has been premised on having a "smart" military, capable of using the technologically advanced weaponry to its fullest. That premise seems to have been abandoned in recent months.