A Unique Relationship
Just ask these guys about it.
I am well aware of what we are giving in this relationship. I am a little confused as to exactly what we are getting in return.
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- Comment Number:
- 2
- Written by:
Buck- Posted on:
- July 21, 2006 at 11:52 am
you would guess that book had to be something a little further out there than Ann Coulter
I guess you would have to read the book to make an accurate assessment.
It is our “unique relationship” with Israel that fascinates me the most. I want to hear more about what we are getting than what we are giving.
Any links?
- Comment Number:
- 3
- Written by:
smijer- Posted on:
- July 21, 2006 at 4:50 pm
I guess you would have to read the book to make an accurate assessment.
More than that, you would have to read the book, and be able to check both its facts and weigh them against the larger body of facts concerning the issue… while I sympathize with the view that a book is best evaluated by reading it, when that’s not possible there are sometimes other clues… And Noam Chomsky is extremely opinionated against the Israel Lobby and has no reason to down-play or distance himself from the claims in that book. If he’s doing so, there’s got to be *something* wrong with it.
Again, I agree with you, that there’s something not Kosher (most unfortunate pun - really wasn’t intended when it first came out) about the strength of the Israel lobby, and the fact that *both* political parties seem highly beholden to it. And, to answer your question, I don’t really see where the U.S. gets much at all out of the relationship, other than an ally in a hot region - willing perhaps to put the finger on the button for “our side” should there be a war between the West and Arabia.
That’s like if Rick Santorum disputed something in a book promoting a conservative viewpoint - you would guess that book had to be something a little further out there than Ann Coulter.
You’re right, though - there seems to be a nearly inexplicable impulse to pander to the “pro-Israel” camp. I use scare quotes around “pro-Israel”, because many people in the camp that oppose much of Israeli government policy are at least as strongly “pro-Israel” as the ones that think God lives behind a curtain in the Knesset.