Storm Over Book On Israeli Lobby

[Lasher]

US Storm Over Walt-Mearsheimer Book on Israel Lobby
BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7104030.stm

The power of America's "Jewish lobby" is said to be legendary. Commentators the world over refer to it, as though it were a well-established fact that US Jews wield far more influence than their numbers (2% of the population) would suggest. But this presumed influence is also a delicate issue in the US, and is rarely analysed. How does the lobby work? Is its power truly legendary, or just a legend? Two US academics, John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt of Harvard, have set out to answer those questions, and triggered a firestorm of controversy as a result. Their book [is] The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy ...

 

[USMC the Almighty]

Do you ever talk about anything other than Jews and Israel?

 

[Lasher]

Well, since they're the ones taking my tax money and using it for weapons to persecute the Palestinians and others in the ME, they are my priority at this time. Why is it that you can only defend this bunch of Zionist cowards?

 

[USMC the Almighty]

Well, since they're the ones taking my tax money and using it for weapons to persecute the Palestinians and others in the ME, they are my priority at this time. Why is it that you can only defend this bunch of Zionist cowards?

I don't really understand your question. And more money goes to Social Security than to the Dept of Defense. As does Health and Human Services. So the big government spenders (pretty much everyone these days) are the ones who should have your priority. Not Israel who takes a fraction of the budget of the Department of Defense which in itself isn't even the top two.

 

[Coyote]

I don't really understand your question. And more money goes to Social Security than to the Dept of Defense. As does Health and Human Services. So the big government spenders (pretty much everyone these days) are the ones who should have your priority. Not Israel who takes a fraction of the budget of the Department of Defense which in itself isn't even the top two.

According to this article, in 2002: Israel is the largest recipient of US foreign aid. It is already due to get $2.04 billion in military assistance and $720 million in economic aid in fiscal 2003. It has been getting $3 billion a year for years.

This is no small potatos and no third world country either.

 

[Lasher]

I don't really understand your question. And more money goes to Social Security than to the Dept of Defense. As does Health and Human Services. So the big government spenders (pretty much everyone these days) are the ones who should have your priority. Not Israel who takes a fraction of the budget of the Department of Defense which in itself isn't even the top two.

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Israel, in addition to all the military armaments we give to them, also receives a whopping one-third of our foreign-aid budget, and Israel is a nation no larger than the state of New Jersey. Israel is not a poor nation, so why is it that we Americans have to support her with such generous amounts of money? We do not give all of sub-Saharan Africa or all the Caribbean countries combined, as much as Israel gets. It's time Israel got off our backs and stood on her own six feet.

 

[ArmChair General]

Israel does a few invaluable things for the US.

1. They keep the region unstable. (Which is good, the last thing we need are the Islamic's focusing on their own economys and getting stronger)

2. They force the Islamic countrys in the region to buy weapons from us, to ironicly protect against the weapons we sell to Israel.

3. They are our biggest allies in the region, always willing to invade whomever we tell them too and do whatever we want. (Lest their welfare checks be cut)

4. The overall goal is to transform the entire middle east into the Pepsi Generation. We need a country like Israel, that knows the area well, already has good spies and can blend in easily with the populace to help us out.

 

[9sublime]

Ah Armchair. A decent post, a very decent post.

I would say kudos, but its the worst word ever.

 

[USMC the Almighty]

I would add two more things to ArmChair's list.

(1) They do things that the U.S. wants to do but can't for political reasons such as the bombing of Saddam's nuclear reactor in the 80s.

(2) Israel is essentially a shock absorber for the U.S. Because of their proximity, the Arabs tend to take out the bulk of their hatred towards the West on the "Little Satan" Israel. If Israel goes away, much of that anti-Western sentiment is going to be turned to the U.S.

 

[Popeye]

I would add two more things to ArmChair's list.

(1) They do things that the U.S. wants to do but can't for political reasons such as the bombing of Saddam's nuclear reactor in the 80s.

(2) Israel is essentially a shock absorber for the U.S. Because of their proximity, the Arabs tend to take out the bulk of their hatred towards the West on the "Little Satan" Israel. If Israel goes away, much of that anti-Western sentiment is going to be turned to the U.S.

No. 1 is good, but the second presumes that they don't hate us already because of our bias towards Israel. Whether true or not, that is one expensive "shock absorber".

 

[USMC the Almighty]

No. 1 is good, but the second presumes that they don't hate us already because of our bias towards Israel. Whether true or not, that is one expensive "shock absorber".

They change their reasons for hating us all the time. Israel is just the current excuse. Next week it might be for deposing the Shah of Iran. The following week it might be for the Crusades.

 

[vyo476]

They change their reasons for hating us all the time. Israel is just the current excuse. Next week it might be for deposing the Shah of Iran. The following week it might be for the Crusades.

Yeah, but it's sure that you'll always dislike them for 9/11. Or for Saddam gassing his own people. Or for the Barbary Wars.

 

[USMC the Almighty]

Yeah, but it's sure that you'll always dislike them for 9/11. Or for Saddam gassing his own people. Or for the Barbary Wars.

I understand your point but it's not what we were talking about. Popeye was asserting that if we stopped supporting Israel the terrorists and mullahs and Islamic fundamentalists would magically start liking us.

 

[Bunz]

I dont disagree devil dog. I think they would find something else not to like the US for. I do think though that several of our long standing foreign policies concerning Israel is a very big part of it.

 

[Lasher]

I don't really understand your question.
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The others in here probably do.


And more money goes to Social Security than to the Dept of Defense. As does Health and Human Services.
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Not germane.


So the big government spenders (pretty much everyone these days) are the ones who should have your priority.
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I decide who has my priority, thank you.


Not Israel who takes a fraction of the budget of the Department of Defense which in itself isn't even the top two.

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Israel takes way more than its "share" of my tax money in foreign aid. Israel is not a poor country, and doesn't need the 30% of the foreign aid budget that it takes.