Ginnie's review
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
by John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt
I'm currently reading this--
I think it's well worth reading in that the point of view is an interesting and unusual one. The issue is examined in terms of foreign policy for both the USA and Israel: does the current relationship best benefit both countries' places in the world situation? And if there is so much evidence that it does not, why then is it pursued in the current manner? And what needs to be changed for greater benefit to both?
Why is the USA so heavily invested economically, militarily, culturally, politically in Israel to such an exceptional extent? Why does Israeli policy play such a huge role in American policy as well as in American cultural/economic/political life? Why are critiques of the polices of the exceptional relationship and policies attacked and suppressed to such an extent? These are some of the basic questions the authors set out to explore. Since I am not finished reading the book, for now, I won't give a comment on it other than to say it is important to keep the discussion of all issues which affect the lives and taxes of American citizens an open one. The more information and points of view, the better the decesisons and choices that can be made for the present and the future--and for peace.
Ginnie's review
The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer, Stephen M. Walt
Ginnie's review
bookshelves:
to-read
Strong review on Salon.com (Sept 6, 2007) “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” arrives carrying heavy baggage. John J. Mearsheimer, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, a professor of international affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, set off a furor last year by arguing, in an article that appeared in The London Review of Books, that uncritical American support for Israel, shaped by powerful lobbying organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, does grave harm to both American and Israeli interests.
I'm currently reading this--I think it's well worth reading in that the point of view is an interesting and unusual one. The issue is examined in terms of foreign policy for both the USA and Israel: does the current relationship best benefit both countries' places in the world situation? And if there is so much evidence that it does not, why then is it pursued in the current manner? And what needs to be changed for greater benefit to both?
Why is the USA so heavily invested economically, militarily, culturally, politically in Israel to such an exceptional extent? Why does Israeli policy play such a huge role in American policy as well as in American cultural/economic/political life? Why are critiques of the polices of the exceptional relationship and policies attacked and suppressed to such an extent? These are some of the basic questions the authors set out to explore. Since I am not finished reading the book, for now, I won't give a comment on it other than to say it is important to keep the discussion of all issues which affect the lives and taxes of American citizens an open one. The more information and points of view, the better the decesisons and choices that can be made for the present and the future--and for peace.