Let me first start by mentioning that this would be an awfully boring book to someone who is not an Arab-Israeli conflict literature aficionado. It is extremely linear and narrow in scope, but nevertheless argues the point that the AIPAC is considerably influential on US policy towards Israel and other political policies that involve Israel or the Middle East conflict. As well, it argues that this sort of American inclination to Israeli policy, be it fair or not, has not been in the benefit of Israelis, Americans or other countries in the region. The arguments are thoroughly discussed, all statistics referenced, and the analytical inferences made are reasonably logical and...suffice to say I have a completely different view of the role of the U.S. in the Middle East conflict now that I've read this book.

There book is not offensive in any way, it is not anti-Semitic, and certainly not pro-Arab. In fact, the authors seem to have done their best to filter out subjectivity in the issue and this is truly about as unbiased as you can get discussing an issue that has always been considered Taboo in mainstream media.

This book is not a treatise and does not have a narrative; rather, it's an extended article. Originally, the topic was summarized in a paper commissioned in 2002 by The Atlantic Monthly, which rejected it (no surprise there). Anyway, a couple of years later the book was published in London and the truth was finally made public.

The arguments in this book are convincing, the introduction thorough and strives to assure the reader of the author's impartiality, and it closes off with a brilliant conclusion which summarizes the opinions of the authors on how the US should deal with the AIPAC, how the situation in the Middle East and Iraq would've been different if the AIPAC was less influential, and finally they analyze a scenario wherein the roles of Israel in Palestine are reversed, where the Palestinians would have the more influential lobby and the much more generous aid and unconditional diplomatic support of the US.

Overall, I truly enjoyed this book. It was an eye-opener and a terrific expose on what goes on beyond the doors at Capitol Hill with regards to America's support to Israel.

The most disturbing thing that this book reveals is that you cannot run for President of the United States and expect to win unless you espouse the views of the lobbies described in this book and that is true whether you are running as a Democrat or a Republican. If you do not believe that this is true you are free to go to youtube and view the recent speeches the candidates for President gave before the most prominent of these lobbies. You can then decide for yourself after listening to the speeches of McCain, Obama and Hillary Clinton. This book is also impeccably sourced and very well written. These two men really did their homework on this subject matter.

Mearsheimer and Walt have done a great service for public discussion in the US pertaining to Israel and our relationship with that nation.

They shed a clear light on the existence and influence of the Israeli lobby upon the American government, media, and public opinion. Their view is that this influence has, for the most part, been highly pernicious over the decades. They expose many successful attempts on the part of that lobby and its supporters to besmirch the character and smear anyone who should be so bold as to question the U.S government's fawning support of Israel's policies against the Palestinians and their Arab neighbors.

Any criticisms directed against Israel are viewed as either: (1) anti-semitic attacks by racist gentile bigots, or (2) self-hating tirades from emotionally and psychologically disturbed Jews. These AIPAC attacks, although crude, Neanderthal in nature, and totally lacking in any creative imagination, are effective enough to strike terror in the wilting souls of our less than totally fearless politicians. When I think of our congressmen and senators hiding under their desks and shaking from the fear of possible AIPAC attacks, I am reminded of a great quote from Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1900's about his boss at the time, William McKinley. Teddy commented to the effect that, "...McKinley has the backbone of a chocolate eclair." Actually, Teddy was being a warmonger at the time--McKinley was actually right in his reticence to go to war against the Spanish in Cuba and the Philippines--but Roosevelt's image of political cowardice is timeless.

The authors' presentation of the facts of the matter and their unfolding reasoned logic is first rate. The book is highly recommended as an exceedingly well-reasoned rejoinder to any and all of your friends and associates who think that our Israeli-Palestinian foreign policy posture couldn't be better. I think they effectively demolish most of the arguments in favor of continuing the failed U.S/Israeli policies of the past into the future.

They promote the vision of the two state solution for Israel and Palestine with a financial settlement for all of the Palestinians and their families that were displaced by the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. The latter is not a perfect solution, but probably the best available give the deep hostilities between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Their suggested road map is not guaranteed to get the warring parties to a final satisfactory destination. However, as they point out, the other alternative proposed policies seem only to promise more hatred, bloodshed, war, and despair.

The one point of view in the book, though, that I would take issue with the authors is the view that oil played only a minor role in our invasion of Iraq. I have no doubt, along with the authors, that the Israeli lobby had a great influence on the Bush administration in helping launch the Iraqi war. However, given the influence of oilmen (Bush, Cheney, etc.) in the Bush administration and the fact that Iraq is rated by many petroleum experts as having the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world (only surpassed by Saudi Arabia), I find it virtually inconceivable that oil was not a major part of the equation for war. It doesn't seem to take a whole lot to corrupt either an oilman or a politician. In this case, we're talking about an enormous amount of oil wealth in Iraq.... Finally, one shouldn't totally dismiss the apparent personal eccentricities and character flaws of Bush and Cheney. Those character traits undoubtedly strongly affected the US's march to war with Iraq.

The book is well worth your time and money to read. It also would make a great gift to family, friends, and associates that could use a broader exposure to the issues involved in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

I thought this book was going to bring facts and evidence. Instead they just support the majority of their theories on unsupported assumptions; for me it was a waste of time and money

I agree with most of the positive review of this book. The notable thing to me is that the book should be a textbook for how to build a logical argument. Rarely in the social sciences and even seldom in the physical sciences has such a thorough case been made for an opinion. The marshaling of evidence and the examination of each alternative explanation makes as solid a logical case as can be imagined. Those who dismiss the book seem to do so based on the acceptability of the conclusions, rather than the evidence.

The whole point of this book is why do we give so much money to Israel when for many times in history they have lie to us (about having nuclear arms) and why do they do things that are not in our best interest. Congress approves more money in the form of grants rather then loans to Israel then it does for any other country. Many presidents like Carter, Ragan, and Clinton have stood against Congress to not allow these fundings to Israel, yet Congress had continually approved such endeavors that have not only risked security in the middle east but have also undermine our very existence as a Democracy. Israel has yet to prove that they are a Democratic nation because look at their Knesset and ask yourself how many Arabs are represented in their government.

Wow! Very impressive! If Mearsheimer and Walt's analysis doesn't convince you of the power of the Israel lobby, one can only conclude that you are either playing without a full deck or you are somehow benefiting from the Lobby's power and want knowledge of the Lobby suppressed.

The book is based on pure fact. This book is like the Bible of correcting America from all the danger AIPAC has subjected it to. Yes, Israel should have the right to exist. However, Israel must stop the oppressive and brutal daily genocide of the hopeless and helpless Palestinians. Israel must go to the '67 borders and stop violating human rights, as well as, convention rules. If AIPAC does not knock it off, we'll be paying $20 for a gallon of gas. More importantly, is Americas saftey which AIPAC does not have near the top of THEIR priorites. America needs to get some real leadership and integrity back, since Cheney, Rice and Dumbya have let it go down the toilet, along with America's image. America is coming back, but we need to get th wolfs out of the chicken coupe! This book will be very upsetting, so remember that there are good/bad in all peoples. By the way, I was promted to read this book after viewing President Carter's Movie: JIMMY CARTER: THE MAN FROM PLAINS. The movie will move you and inspire you forever. Highly Recommended - Superb! Adios!

I saw this book at a bookstore and thought that lobby is something on which comment is necessary to promote intellectual honesty. I listened to the recorded version, hence the "only" 4-stars.

While I've said in other reviews, the jury is still out on recorded books, they're great for those of us with limited time to read a volume as long as this one. The major objection I have of the recorded media is that, while listening, one has less time to absorb the facts, let alone a written page to which one may return and refer. Aside from that, the book is a masterpiece.

While I don't deny that some ethnic groups have suffered more than others, I've always had problems with a few who base their entitlement on their degree of victimization. (My inlaws insist that they, as Catholics are perpetually victimized. I remind them that we haven't had a candidate in the Know Nothing Party for a few years anyway!) Indeed, I've been afraid that the Israel lobby has triumphed at that art: we were bigger victims than anyone, therefore are entitled, to military aid, to a human rights record to put others to shame, etc., etc., etc. And the moment one challenges that entitlement, s/he is labled as an anti-Semite, even a Nazi sympathizer (!) or (?) a holocaust denier. That always struck me as at least intellectual dishonesty, if not worse.

(An irony of that too is that, as someone reminded me years ago, most of the Arabs who are shunned and demonized by the lobby are Semites too!)

The authors start with the fact that they'd been commissioned to write an article on the subject by a noted periodical, which, once the article was completed, turned them down. So eventually they wrote the book.

Again, I don't have a "text" here to review the specifics--hence my criticism of the "recorded" medium. But I do recall that they repeat several times that they do support a Jewish state. In other words, they're not "anti-Isreal." Yet they too, when critical of the subject which makes up the book's title, are called anti-Semitic.

The text allows for countless examples of how one-sided the "lobby" tends to be. In the US, we hear constantly of how victimized the Israelis are, yet hear little of the suffering of the Palestinians--colonized by Isreal with little if any regard for the rights of the colonized--or how the PLO, for example, WAS interested in treaties, yet the Israelis refuse to even consider them.

I wish I had the "hard copy" of the book her to refer to, but it does confirm my suspicion of the lobby. The authors profide ample evidence that even American Jews do not support much of what the lobby represents. And many who're stalwart supporters of the lobby are not Jewish. (There are some reviewers who've mentioned that many of the neocons who make up the spine of the lobby are Jewish, and infer anti-Semitism. I didn't know that many are Jewish, consider the fact irrelevant, and remind many that some of the strongest supporters, e.g., John Bolton, are NOT Jewish, but inflexibly neoconservative. Which label is more significant, Jewish or neocon?)

I also point out something that the authors remind the reader: that some of the harshest critics of Israeli policy are in the Israeli press. Those in Israel are more exposed to much of the absurdity of the lobby than we are here in the country whose credibility is under attack BECAUSE of our unwavering support of repressive Israeli policies.

I think it's very important that we be able to open doors to the discussion of the lobby's policies and US support of them, without being labled with as evil entities. This book may have begun to open those doors, one hopes anyway. But I recommend you read it rather than listen to it, so you have more specifics in arguing with the lobby--and particularly challenging those many "lawmakers" who succumb to the lobby without challenge (some of those lawmakers are Jewish, many are neocon "Christians.")

By the way, I don't agree with everything the authors state. For example, they attribute our invasion of Iraq as having more to do with the lobby than that of the oil companies. That claim may be challengable. But let's at least talk about it!

I'm reminded of a conversation I had with the local Islamic Student Association late in 2001. After Bush gave his rousing speech after 9/11, one of the members of that association, with the agreement of others, said it was a pretty powerful testament, until Bush added, "and our support for Israel." At that point, the students suggested, Bush lost the support of a billion people.

Perhaps it's about time we're at least honest with each other about the inordinate power of the Israel lobby. Maybe it should fit more tightly within parameters of need--How much aide to we give to a relatively developed and small state?--and of credibility worldwide. Denying the open discussion may at least be a challenge to democracy, and our nation's credibility!

I'm not the typical guy interested in politics. In fact, I'm the typical father who goes to work from 9 to 5, comes home really tired and watches whatever CNN dumps on my TV. But based on a suggestion from my brother, I started reading this book. As soon as I finished reading the introduction, I immediately got addicted to it! Not only I bought the audio version but also a copy of the printed version! The audio version has been the radio station in my car for the last two months. I'm already listening to the whole thing the second time.

Based on this book, I praise Mr. Walt and Mr. Mearsheimer for being two of the most intelligent, open-minded scholars in the world. They're literally human encyclopedias. Rather than empty opinions and vague assumptions, they provide an UNBELIEVABLE amount of facts and evidence to explain the damage that the Israel lobby has been inflicting in the United States, the nation that we, Americans, love.

Now I understand why it's really hypocritical to see all presidential candidates always praising Israel for its democracy and supposed strategic value, when in fact, it's a country whose government commits many human rights violations against the Palestinians and has helped increase anti-American sentiment around the planet. And based on Mr. Walt's and Mr. Mearsheimer's detailed explanation, including facts and numerous quotes from officials, there's no doubt that (1) 9/11 happpened partially because of Israel's policies against the Arabs, and (2) the United States invaded Iraq more because of Israel than our own national interests.

But rest assured that Mr. Walt and Mr. Mearsheimer are only criticizing the pro-Israel lobby and our bad foreign policies. This book has nothing to do with anti-semitism and senseless criticism against Jews or any other group. In fact, the authors clearly argue that many Jews in Israel are also against the policies their government endorses. This book is a must-read for everyone worried about the future of our nation in the international arena.

These two men had an agenda to sell. In the entire scope of their research, they did not interview even one person from the Israel lobby. If someone was writing a book on Hamas, you would expect them to try to interview officials from Hamas, especially if they lived in Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. Walt lives in Cambridge, a mere 1.5 hour flight from Washington DC. Yet, they did not even seek to interview a single person from AIPAC, the AJC, the JNF, or any one of the many Jewish organizations that exist! This shoddy scholarship is meant to perpetuate their hateful view of Israel and its lobby. These men have been trained in how to do proper case study research. They know the importance of primary sources and firsthand interviews. Thus, they made the strategic choice to avoid interviewing a single member of the Israel lobby. The book suffers as a result.

Beyond courageous.

Bravo.

Someone nominate these brave men for the Nobel.

Please.

Walt and Mearsheimer's book is an extremely important and cannily argued exposition of the war that has been waged against academics in the US and elsewhere -- including, to name a few, the late Edward Said, Ilan Pappe, Norman Finkelstein and Michael Scheuer -- who have dared question the uncritical support that Western governments have given Israel as it continues its oppression of Palestinians (and Lebanese). While some of the individuals mentioned above (Pappe, Finkelstein) have seen their careers affected because of their views, Said, Scheuer, Walt and Mearsheimer, for their part, have been accused of being ant-Semitic, in what often was more an emotional response that precluded rational thinking than a well-formulated counterargument. Finkelstein's recent brush with Israeli authorities, which resulted in his deportation from Israel and his being barred entry for 10 years, serves as the epitome of the treatment reserved academics who tell truth to power.

My own experience, as a Canadian who worked in security intelligence and now as a writer/academic, has been similar. At the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), where I worked as an analyst from 2003-2005, my views on Israel and Canada's unquestioning support for its policies often went against the organizational paradigm, and on more than one occasion I was told, in no uncertain terms, that my career as an intelligence officer would suffer if I continued to criticize that support. The callousness of some Israeli agents I met in the course of my work, or the manner in which they completely overestimated the Palestinian or Hezbollah threat, was nothing less than shocking. As such, the official and tacit Israeli lobby is also very much alive in Canada, a subject I touch on in my book Smokescreen: Canadian security intelligence after September 11, 2001 .

Now a writer and editor in Taipei, Taiwan, I have published some articles on Israel, which for some reason many like to see as facing a plight similar to Taiwan's -- a false analogy that I have sought to dispel on a number of occasions. There, too, far away from Western circles, the attacks came, more often than not in the form of character assassination rather than arguments worthy of the name.

It took great courage, I am sure, for Messrs. Walt and Mearsheimer to write their article, and then turn it into a book. But it is a worthy polemic which, if heeded not only in the US but elsewhere, would ironically help ensure that Israel faces the prospects of a better, safer future, which its people certainly deserve -- only not at the expense of Palestinians, Lebanese and academic freedom.

Brave brave book! Intelligent! So very readable! Bravo! Should be required reading for anyone who has wondered as so many of us have "Why the heck did the USA ever go into Iraq?" Answer: Because The Israel Lobby manipulated the USA into it. Israel isn't satisfied with the $500.00 per person they greedily suck out of the USA every year (taxpayers' hard-earned money!). They want the American Soldiers to die for Israel! And did Israel make an honest request an above board request which Americans could really think about. Did Israel let the American taxpayer, the American citizen think about, "Do we want to help Israel out in this way?" Did they let the American citizen consider and make a choice? NO! Instead the Israel Lobby (so well documented here in this very important book) secretly bullyingly manipulatively opportunistically forced the USA to do their bidding in the Mideast. And at any hint of questioning by any questioner, the dreadful and dreaded epithet "anti-Semitic!" "ANTI-SEMITIC!" (Or "Self-loathing Jew") is hurled, screamed (by the Israel Lobby). Israel was the USA's puppet master in the Iraq war. War by proxy - how could we have been so used? We knew when the attacks on Jimmy Carter started, that there was something rotten in - not Demark - in Tel Aviv. Now the USA's relationship with Israel needs not just close examination, but needs to be changed radically. Too late now for many American soldiers dead and maimed in Iraq for Israel's interests! Now is the time to look carefully at every person in the Congress that caved in to the pressure of this destructive and vicious group. We are all afraid of being called "anti-Semitic" which is one of the lobby's main political weapons. (The Israel Lobby has made these accusations against Jimmy Carter (never was there a man more undeserving of such a vile accusation), against the authors of this book (ridiculous), against members of our press (Tom Friedman), against members of our Congress (appalling). ENOUGH! I am sometimes reminded of something the great sociologist/thinker Gregory Bateson liked to say "What you believe to be true is true - or becomes true." Israel may now reap what it has sewn - not what is anti-Semitic (no decent person is anti-Semitic - but no decent person (or country) uses this sort of epithet to manipulate others either.) Israel is now going to have to deal the beginning of real and strong and very well-justified, very well-deserved anti-Israel feeling. Israel may now have to deal with rabid anti-Israel sentiment in the USA. Not just Anti-Israel feeling, but now Israel may have to deal with (well-deserved) Anti-Israel action. Israel has shown itself to be no friend of the USA; Israel is just a user. Israel has robbed the USA, deceived the USA, and has caused (through deceit)USA soldier sons and daughters to be killed for Israel. Disgusting! Some of the USA's enemies treat the USA better and certainly have cost the USA le$$.

Of America's club-footed, seemingly bass-ackwards foreign policy. Even to a casual observer, you can't help but wonder why it seems like every tactic blows up in our faces with the most negative of repercussions. Here is a realistic deconstruction of the slavish relationship America has with Israel, right or wrong, and how through recognizing that the destinies of the two countries are NOT inevitably intertwined, that the divergence of policy when it is not in our best interests (as have Realists in the past) might well serve both nations better. For my money, it's about time that a book like this was written, and as we can see from the anti-semitism charges leveled at the authors, that they have obviously struck a nerve.
This book is NOT ant-semitic. It is very even-handed, and certainly worth reading for those interested in having a better understanding of why such a one-sided approach to a region containing a hundred million Arabs and 5.5 million jews is a recipe for disaster.

I can only say that it's about time America question its blind allegiance to this controversial nation which has yet to prove its dedication to any peace process. The authors use concise and well-researched documentation to present both fallacies and myths in the Mid-East peace process as they expose the machinations that have been used to place the United States in the dangerous position of assuming full responsibility for another nations welfare before even its own. Most telling is the evidence of anti-Americanism which will be eye-opening to many and simply an affirmation to others. Whether you support the state of Israel or not, this book is a must read for anyone who desires to better understand the complex and often fascinating world of international politics.

I first heard of Mearsheimer and Walt about a year ago when I read their first paper on the influence of the Israeli lobby in Washington politics. A month later, I saw a powerful Dutch documentary on Tegentlicht- "The Israel Lobby". It completely changed my perception of the workings in Washington DC. I was privileged enough to receive an email from Professor Mearsheimer prior to the release of his book after writing Congress about this to which I sent him a copy of my letter. Once the book came out, I read it in less than a few days.

It was gripping, powerful, detailed, disturbing, and quite compelling. The books speaks for itself- powerful interests in Washington have a vested interest in protecting the interests of Israel and at the expense of this country's own interest. There are numerous examples of this throughout the post World War II era, i.e., arms dealing (especially top notch hi-tech weaponry that no other ally has access to), billions of dollars in grants and loans (which are often forgiven), interference in domestic politics in terms of elections, and vetoing UN resolutions that are critical of Israel. Moreover, the Israeli Lobby is able to largely get away with this due to its effective promoting and marketing of "antisemitism" when there is any criticism of Israel regardless if it is warranted or not. Furthermore, Mearsheimer and Walt argue that the war in Iraq was mainly fought to protect Israel and much of the support came from Israeli supported interests, i.e., AIPAC, that have backed many election campaigns throughout this country. However, they note as well that this was not the only factor but the most significant factor leading up to the war. Many may argue that oil was the reason we went into Iraq. Although Mearsheimer and Walt argue that this was indeed a factor, it was only a side factor. I happen to agree- otherwise, we would be invading other countries with oil like Venezeula, Nigeria, Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea. Now we are starting to see the same thing in Iran. I just recently read an article where Shell Oil pulled out of Iran due to pressure from the Bush administration- one has to really think about the interests behind this. Moreover, there is all this hype about attacking Iran. I think more than anything oil companies want to have access to oil regardless of who is in power. It just shows that special interests other than oil want to shape our Middle East Foreign Policy and the direction it points to is the direction of the Israeli Lobby. Highly recommended.

I first heard of Mearsheimer and Walt about a year ago when I read their first paper on the influence of the Israeli lobby in Washington politics. A month later, I saw a powerful Dutch documentary on Tegentlicht- "The Israel Lobby". It completely changed my perception of the workings in Washington DC. I was privileged enough to receive an email from Professor Mearsheimer prior to the release of his book after writing Congress about this to which I sent him a copy. Once the book came out, I read it in less than a few days.

It was gripping, powerful, detailed, disturbing, and quite compelling. The books speaks for itself- powerful interests in Washington have a vested interest in protecting the interests of Israel and at the expense of this country's own interest. There are numerous examples of this throughout the post World War II era, i.e., arms dealing (especially top notch hi-tech weaponry that no other ally has access to), billions of dollars in grants and loans (which are often forgiven), interference in domestic politics in terms of elections, and vetoing UN resolutions that are critical of Israel. Moreover, the Israeli Lobby is able to largely get away with this due to its effective promoting and marketing of "antisemitism" when there is any criticism of Israel regardless if it is appropriate or inappropriate. Furthermore, they argue that the war in Iraq was mainly fought to protect Israel and much of the support came from Israeli supported interests that have backed many of political campaigns, i.e, AIPAC. However, they note as well that this was not the only factor but the most significant factor. Many may argue that oil was the reason we went into Iraq- although they argue that this was indeed a factor- it was only a side factor. I happen to agree. Now we are starting to see the same thing in Iran. I just recently read an article where Shell Oil pulled out of Iran due to pressure from the Bush administration- one has to really think about the interests behind this. Moreover, there is all this hype about attacking Iran. I think more than anything oil companies want to have access to oil regardless of who is in power. It just shows that special interests other than oil want to shape our Middle East Foreign Policy and the direction it points to is the direction of the Israeli Lobby. Highly recommended.

This is a very well written book, with comprehensive thesis, well thought out structure and easy to read and comprehend. However, the book has many flaws, the primary of which is its false premise and hence wrong conclusion.

To start out, it's crucial to note that it's not an anti-semitic book, as the Zionists and Jews like to point out anything that has an anti-Israeli subject. In fact, throughout the book the authors continuously discuss this topic and spend a great deal on rebuffing this sort of criticism in the preface and introduction which is important since this topic is very much part of their thesis.

The thesis of the book is simple: support of the Jewish state of Israel cannot be explained on geopolitical or moral basis because it's against America's interest to support it, especially in a heinous way it does. That is not to be confused with supporting its existence. The authors state very clearly and loudly that US should defend Israel and immediately come to its aid if its physical or even political existence is in danger. However, supporting its near apartheid, radical policies towards the Palestinians is not in America's interest. Given this premise, the conclusion is that America's huge financial, military and diplomatic support of Israel is attributed mostly to Israel lobby.

The plot of the book proceeds as follows. The authors start out by providing evidence of the deep financial support US provides to Israel, much of which is unprecedented in America's history of foreign aid. It makes many exceptions in US law, gives it huge loans which are not meant to be repaid and collects extremely small interest rate, if at all. Its military support, needless to say, is also extremely extensive, making Israeli military the most advanced in the world, 2nd only to the US. In fact, some of the military provided to Israel is made in the US specifically for Israel - much of useless for America itself. Furthermore, it provides extensive diplomatic support to Israel, never seen before, examples of which include voting against UN Security Council Resolutions that seek to condemn Israel for its policies and human rights violations.

Having established these facts, the authors move on to define and describe the lobby, which includes many influential organizations, groups, political action committees (PAC's) and etc. They follow that by describing their working methods, tactics and generally speaking, lobbying process used to influence America's foreign policy towards Israel and in the Middle East in general.

This is where the flaws of the book begin. Since the authors seek to establish the premise of the book by making the case that neither geopolitical nor moral basis can be established to justify the extensive support of Israel, they must refute both claims. While the authors do a somewhat good job in refuting the moral case (by citing polls mostly), they come well short in refuting geopolitical basis. They cite some people, such as Noam Chomsky, who believe that America's support for Israel can be attributed to America's geopolitical interest in the Middle East, such as military and economic hegemony and petroleum. Yet their analysis is, to say the least, incomplete. The basis of their analysis rests on a very simplistic view: America has no interest in supporting Israel because it ruins America's image in the Arab/Muslim world, which goes beyond just Middle East. Therefore, they believe, the support of the state of Israel cannot be attributed to America's geopolitical interests. It's an incomplete analysis because they do little (a few pages treatment) to refute those claims. But it's also wrong, because it assumes that America's image in the Middle East is the only principle that matters. They absolutely do not discuss other geopolitical interests at work, such as discussed by Noam Chomsky and others. Their refutation is that "there is not much evidence on public record" to support such claims. And that is utterly false.

They conclude the book by discussing America's policies towards Syria and Iran, again attributing America's policies towards these countries as being the result of Israel lobby, and dedicate their last chapter to discussing ways to reduce the influence of such lobby groups and if possible, dissolve them altogether.

Overall, it can be an informative book in terms of finding out about the inner workings of the Israel lobby groups, their tactics and methods, and also learning the basics of America's foreign policy in the Middle East. As mentioned before, the book is well written, easy to read and comprehend. However, its assumptions are simplistic, premise flawed, analysis incomplete and conclusion simply false. Nonetheless, I recommend reading this book but doing it with a healthy dose of skepticism.

A splendid, well researched tome on how money buys influence to pander to dogma. The annotations are impeccable.

This book initially angered me so much that I had to stop reading it for awhile. I could not, or did not, want to believe what it said. A week or two after the initial anger, I decided to sit down and read it and it is an eye opener.
I find the evidence compelling and I agree to the extent that I believe our government has been manipulated into a lop-sided foreign policy favoring only Israel -- something that has to change if we are to become an honest broker in any peace attempt in the region. I've seen too much of the destruction rendered by Israel's bombs in Lebanon to believe anything else.
That these authors had the courage to swim against the tide of popular opinion in the U.S., however misguided that opinion may be, is a credit to their effort. Whether all of their statements are fact will be up to the historians. But what they say is, for me, substantive.

They displayed the highest level of academic integrity as well as an unbiased look into the influence of the Israeli Lobby.

This book makes a very strong case for the
Zionist Lobby and it's out-of-proportion-to
-it's-size influence in Washington. I am still
not convinced that the zionist-khazars are the
main power behid the throne, so to speak, but
their influence is very far and wide and this
book is better than anything the numbskull W.
A. Carto and his jew-baiter/half-jew Bernard
Pi(e?)per have ever come out with. Highly rec-
ommended to me by the Producer R. Jaeger of the
prestegious 'Fiat Empire' / Ron Paul DVDs series.

It saddens me that our government in the United States is so manipulated by a foreign government (Israel) - It doesn't take much research to find what Israel's true intentions are. We provide billions of dollars EVERY YEAR in aide and weapons to a country the size of New Jersey (multiple times more then entire Sub-Saharan Africa)

Research topics "USS Liberty" or "Lavon Affair" to find Israel's true intentions.

When will America realize our shortcomings and fix it? We are letting Israel destroy our country.

As a PhD candidate in national security policy, I have beceome very familiar with the writings of Mearsheimer and Walt. Until now I had admiored their acumen, but now after reading this muckraking piece of intellectual trash, I have to reconsider all their writings.

The criticisms are wide and have all been covered by many witers and thinkers of considerable heft. Where do I start? The logical underpinings of this book are baseless. In sorth, U.S. support for Israel is motivated by a commitment to the only established democratic state in the region, widespread sympathy for Jewish suffering in the Holocaust, and Israeli suffering from Palestinian terrorist attacks.

To the extent that the Israel lobby acts in a cohesive manner (remember that when you get N number of Jews in a room, you always get N+1 opinions), it is undoubtedly a political force to be reckoned with in Washington, but not a force that has any more power than any other lobby. Plus it's a lobby that has no formal organization, no formal communication, and no is apparently made up from anyone who could possible have sympathetic hankerings to Israel.

Then of course there is the canard that Israel pushed the US to attack Iraq -- not true. Israel would have liked the US to leave Iraq alone and focus on the more iminent threat to Israel, i.e. Iran.

This "book" (work of fiction?) is so riddled with incorrect facts and poor citations, I can't even get started. I will list a few :

* Walt and Mearsheimer update the centuries-old "blood libel" by claiming that citizenship in Israel is based on "blood kinship." In fact non-Jews are citizens.
* The authors intentionally quote David ben-Gurion out of context so as to make it appear that he is saying the exact opposite of what he actually said.
* The authors claims that "Contrary to popular belief, the Zionists had larger, better-equipped, and better-led forces during the 1947-49 War of Independence...."
* They insist that "The mainstream Zionist leadership was not interested in establishing a bi-national state or accepting a permanent partition of Palestine." This is entirely false as Israel accepted the original mandate and was attacked at the commmencement of their Statehood.
* Walt and Measheimer repeat Yasir Arafat's "Bantustan" accusation - that Prime Minister Barak didn't offer the Palestinians a contiguous West Bank in 2000 - concluding, contrary to the published maps, that "no Israeli government has been willing to offer the Palestinians a viable state of their own."

For more, just look at this extensive rebuttal by an eminent scholar: [...]

An excellent and honest analysis as to why there can never be peace in the Middle East as long as the US is the broker.

US politicians so often side with Israel because we share common values and common enemies. To think there is some nefarious reason is just a paranoid conspiracy theory.

Of course the US is biased in favor of Israel. Why would it be desirable to be even-handed between democratic Israel and oppressive, anti-western Arab/Muslim dictatorships? Israel is a democracy with freedom of religion, freedom of press, rights for minorities and women. Israel is a stalwart ally of America and votes more often with the US in the UN than any other country. The Arabs on the other hand have societies whose values we find anathema. Honor killings are rampant. Women are oppressed. Gays are jailed. There is no freedom of religion or freedom of the press. In Saudi Arabia, women aren't even allowed to drive and cannot leave their house without a man's permission. In the Palestinian Authority, religious leaders sermonize that infidels (that's us westerners) are evil, that one should never be friends with a Christian and that all Jews should be killed.

Now if Walt and Mearsheimer had done a book about the heavy-handed, far-reaching and detrimental effect of the Saudi oil lobby, that would be a book I would want to read. Saudis have funded extremist schools, mosques, professors and chaplains all over the world, including in American universities, highschools, prisons and the military.

I'm very glad this book came out and hope millions of people will read it. Anyone familiar with the work of the conservative columnist Joseph Sobran will know how dangerous and ruthless the pro-Israeli lobby. They nearly ruined his career in the 80s with their bogus charges of "anti-Semitism." The authors make the same point in 2007 that Sobran and Pat Buchanan made 15-20 years ago: aid to Israel is doing far more harm than good to the United States. The authors point out--correctly-- that millions of Muslims in the Middle east hate the U.S. because of our unquestioning support for Israel.

The authors point out that the major terrorists like bin Laden and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed have explicitly said they launched 9-11 mainly because they despise the U.S. for assisting Israel in persecuting the Palestinians. They also assert--with evidence-- that Congress is utterly dominated by the Lobby. It has reached the point where a foreign government utterly controls the Congress. (Simply witness the lack of criticism from Capitol Hill against Israel during the bombing of Lebanon). The lobby openly boasts of controlling Congress, so this is not a conspiracy theory. I highly urge any concerned citizen to read this book.

Superbly researched and well written, the book is the long overdue start of an open, rational debate on US foreign policy towards Israel, a topic that is sadly discussed far too little given the magnitude of its global importance.

The two most courageous individuals (Mearsheimer & Walt) to step up and tell the truth.

Mearsheimer and Walt are the most courageous individuals who stepped up and told the truth about Israel and the Jewish Lobby and their influence on the U.S. foreign policy. The reason I say that is because everyone who criticizes Israel and their lobbies in the U.S. either lose their jobs or their lives get ruined. Every politician who criticizes Israel and their lobbies will never get re-elected again and this has happened many times so far. Look what happened to Henry Ford who was one of the richest people in the country, he criticized the Jews and ended up paying a big price for doing that, they made him go down on his knees and beg for forgiveness and wrote a letter apologizing for the comments he made about and the Jews that was publicized for everyone to read. Also look at what happened to Mel Gibson, he criticized Israel and the Jews and paid the price, they made him go on national TV and apologized for the comments he made. The Jewish lobby in the U.S. is not big, but they have very powerful individuals who can make things happen, they include business people and politicians (Democrats and Republicans).
This subject is like a taboo, if you talk about it, you get cursed. The Jewish lobby is worse than the Mafia, and their largest branch is AIPAC and ADL, and then comes AEI, WINEP and others. They control the most powerful U.S. government branch (The Pentagon). You do not hear much about them because they work behind the scenes. There are a good percentage of them that work for the White House. Politicians who disagree with them keep quiet because they know the consequences; some spoke up and never got re-elected again.
When a U.S. politician gets elected for Congress or the Senate, they go through a training class conducted by a Jewish organization (AIPAC) and they are taught how to support Israel and why. Then AIPAC flies them to Israel to meet the rest of the gang and go through more training. AIPAC is a branch of the Israeli government the Likud Party
which works closely with the U.S right wing politicians and the right wing Christians.
The Likud party's purpose is to remove the Palestinians completely out of Israel and to make Israel 100% Jewish state and that's what the right wing Christians in the U.S. believe in, it is a prophecy to be fulfilled by both.
Their belief is the Jewish state (Israel) should extend from the Euphrates river to the Nile river, which means Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considered to be the land of Israel and their plan is to fulfill this prophecy.
Our government is run by a foreign government (Israel), but no one dares to stop it. They are exposed to highly classified materials and they control the U.S. election system. Why do you think Bush won both terms, technically he lost both terms, but with AIPAC's slight hand magic, he turned out to be the elections' winner in both terms and according to Israel's government and the Jewish lobby, he is considered to be Israel's best friend. One year before Bush ran for office, he spent the entire year meeting with powerful Jewish leaders in the U.S. and Israel and they made sure that he would not lose elections in order for their plans to be carried out exactly the way they presented to him. In my opinion, any president of the U.S. is nothing but a puppet hanging on strings and Israel holds the stick and wiggles him around.
The purpose of AIPAC and its affiliates is to help Israel become 100% Jewish state. The Israeli government claims that the Palestinians are like Cancer, it is difficult to remove.
In the early 1950's after Israel became a country, the Jews in Egypt were blowing up American facilities to make it look like it was done by the Egyptians, then one of their missions failed that resulted in the capture of one of them and he confessed, some were arrested and some fled to Israel. Their mission was to make the Americans think that it was the Egyptians behind the plot and have the U.S retaliate against Egypt, because Egypt was considered a big threat to Israel, but then Israel got only a slap on the wrist and Israel was pardoned by the U.S. government.
Again, in June of 1967, the USS Liberty ship which was a U.S. Navy/NSA spy ship in the international waters in the Mediterranean See outside the sea limits of Israel conducting a look out mission monitoring the tension between Israel and Egypt. The Israeli Air Force and their Navy attacked the USS Liberty with the intension of completely destroying it and kill everyone on board and blame it on the Egyptians, but the crew of the USS Liberty was able to fix the communication equipment and sent a SOS signal to its fleet, when Israel realized that the USS Liberty crew was able to communicate with their navy fleet, they halted their attack and claimed that it was a mistaken identity claiming they thought it was an Egyptian warship on its way to attack Israel even though the U.S. flags on the USS Liberty were visible, so Lyndon Johnson who was the President at the time was pressurized by Israel and the Israeli Lobby to keep quiet, so Johnson went with the scam and published a letter saying that Israel did not mean to do that because they did not know it was a U.S. Navy ship and the surviving crew of the USS Liberty was told to keep quiet and never to discuss this incident with anyone. Again, Israel got nothing but a slap on the wrist and was informed that if they do it again make sure not to get caught.
Again with September 11, the Israeli government was aware of what was about to take place in New York, but they kept quiet to let it happen and make the U.S. retaliate. Israel's mission is to make the U.S. do the dirty job for Israel and fight their wars. It is done this way in case if something goes wrong, the fingers will be pointed at the U.S. instead of Israel. Just like the war in Iraq, it was Israel who pushed the U.S. to attack Iraq and look at what is happening now, it is failing and many Iraqi civilians killed and many U.S. soldiers killed and the fingers are pointed at the U.S. instead of Israel. And Israel is now drawing the blueprints for the U.S. to attack Syria and Iran.
Also, Hamas is known to be a terrorist group, but we need to understand how Hamas was established. When the first Palestinian intifada (the uprising) erupted in the mid 1980s, the Israeli government looked for different tactics to eliminate/silence the Palestinians, therefore the Israeli government established the group Hamas and recruited Palestinian individuals trained by the Israeli government (of course, they were on the payroll) and supplied them with arms, their mission was to create a civil war among the Palestinians where it suppose to have the Palestinians kill each other and destabilize their communities. Eventually, some were captured by the Palestinians and executed. So the Palestinians decided to establish their own militia and called themselves Hamas which was the name of the original group the Israeli government established. The Israeli government tried many different tactics to eliminate the Palestinian population. One of their tactics was to poison the drinking water that fed the Gaza Strip and some parts of the West Bank in the 1970s, they polluted their drinking water with chemicals to prevent the Palestinians from having children, eventually the plot was uncovered and Israel got a slap on the wrist. They tried the same tactic in the mid 1980s and also the plot was uncovered and again Israel got a slap on the wrist.
Sadly, the American public has no clue about any of this because they are kept in the dark. Since we do not know anything about foreign policies, we tend to believe everything our government and the media tell us. This is the most effective way to brain wash the public. You fill their heads with propaganda and the rest is easy. We are considered to be the most illiterate people in the world when it comes to politics and international affairs, we seem to think that we are on the top of the world and everyone else should follow our lead. We don't seem to know that our country is run by foreign government and fanatics.
The majority of the Jews in Israel disagree with the Israeli government policies and their actions against the Palestinians and they all know how powerful the Jewish lobby is in the U.S. and they are concerned that the Israeli government and the Jewish lobby in the U.S. are causing more harm to the Jews themselves. Even the Orthodox Jews (the religious party) in Israel are ashamed of their own government and they even disagree with the way Israel came to exist and they claim Israel was illegally created by stealing someone else's land.
That's how powerful the Jewish Lobby is in the United State.

The two most courageous individuals (Mearsheimer & Walt) to step up and tell the truth.

Mearsheimer and Walt are the most courageous individuals who stepped up and told the truth about Israel and the Jewish Lobby and their influence on the U.S. foreign policy. The reason I say that is because everyone who criticizes Israel and their lobbies in the U.S. either lose their jobs or their lives get ruined. Every politician who criticizes Israel and their lobbies will never get re-elected again and this has happened many times so far. Look what happened to Henry Ford who was one of the richest people in the country, he criticized the Jews and ended up paying a big price for doing that, they made him go down on his knees and beg for forgiveness and wrote a letter apologizing for the comments he made about and the Jews that was publicized for everyone to read. Also look at what happened to Mel Gibson, he criticized Israel and the Jews and paid the price, they made him go on national TV and apologized for the comments he made. The Jewish lobby in the U.S. is not big, but they have very powerful individuals who can make things happen, they include business people and politicians (Democrats and Republicans).
This subject is like a taboo, if you talk about it, you get cursed. The Jewish lobby is worse than the Mafia, and their largest branch is AIPAC and ADL, and then comes AEI, WINEP and others. They control the most powerful U.S. government branch (The Pentagon). You do not hear much about them because they work behind the scenes. There are a good percentage of them that work for the White House. Politicians who disagree with them keep quiet because they know the consequences; some spoke up and never got re-elected again.
When a U.S. politician gets elected for Congress or the Senate, they go through a training class conducted by a Jewish organization (AIPAC) and they are taught how to support Israel and why. Then AIPAC flies them to Israel to meet the rest of the gang and go through more training. AIPAC is a branch of the Israeli government the Likud Party
which works closely with the U.S right wing politicians and the right wing Christians.
The Likud party's purpose is to remove the Palestinians completely out of Israel and to make Israel 100% Jewish state and that's what the right wing Christians in the U.S. believe in, it is a prophecy to be fulfilled by both.
Their belief is the Jewish state (Israel) should extend from the Euphrates river to the Nile river, which means Israel, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are considered to be the land of Israel and their plan is to fulfill this prophecy.
Our government is run by a foreign government (Israel), but no one dares to stop it. They are exposed to highly classified materials and they control the U.S. election system. Why do you think Bush won both terms, technically he lost both terms, but with AIPAC's slight hand magic, he turned out to be the elections' winner in both terms and according to Israel's government and the Jewish lobby, he is considered to be Israel's best friend. One year before Bush ran for office, he spent the entire year meeting with powerful Jewish leaders in the U.S. and Israel and they made sure that he would not lose elections in order for their plans to be carried out exactly the way they presented to him. In my opinion, any president of the U.S. is nothing but a puppet hanging on strings and Israel holds the stick and wiggles him around.
The purpose of AIPAC and its affiliates is to help Israel become 100% Jewish state. The Israeli government claims that the Palestinians are like Cancer, it is difficult to remove.
In the early 1950's after Israel became a country, the Jews in Egypt were blowing up American facilities to make it look like it was done by the Egyptians, then one of their missions failed that resulted in the capture of one of them and he confessed, some were arrested and some fled to Israel. Their mission was to make the Americans think that it was the Egyptians behind the plot and have the U.S retaliate against Egypt, because Egypt was considered a big threat to Israel, but then Israel got only a slap on the wrist and Israel was pardoned by the U.S. government.
Again, in June of 1967, the USS Liberty ship which was a U.S. Navy/NSA spy ship in the international waters in the Mediterranean See outside the sea limits of Israel conducting a look out mission monitoring the tension between Israel and Egypt. The Israeli Air Force and their Navy attacked the USS Liberty with the intension of completely destroying it and kill everyone on board and blame it on the Egyptians, but the crew of the USS Liberty was able to fix the communication equipment and sent a SOS signal to its fleet, when Israel realized that the USS Liberty crew was able to communicate with their navy fleet, they halted their attack and claimed that it was a mistaken identity claiming they thought it was an Egyptian warship on its way to attack Israel even though the U.S. flags on the USS Liberty were visible, so Lyndon Johnson who was the President at the time was pressurized by Israel and the Israeli Lobby to keep quiet, so Johnson went with the scam and published a letter saying that Israel did not mean to do that because they did not know it was a U.S. Navy ship and the surviving crew of the USS Liberty was told to keep quiet and never to discuss this incident with anyone. Again, Israel got nothing but a slap on the wrist and was informed that if they do it again make sure not to get caught.
Again with September 11, the Israeli government was aware of what was about to take place in New York, but they kept quiet to let it happen and make the U.S. retaliate. Israel's mission is to make the U.S. do the dirty job for Israel and fight their wars. It is done this way in case if something goes wrong, the fingers will be pointed at the U.S. instead of Israel. Just like the war in Iraq, it was Israel who pushed the U.S. to attack Iraq and look at what is happening now, it is failing and many Iraqi civilians killed and many U.S. soldiers killed and the fingers are pointed at the U.S. instead of Israel. And Israel is now drawing the blueprints for the U.S. to attack Syria and Iran.
Sadly, the American public has no clue about any of this because they are kept in the dark. Since we do not know anything about foreign policies, we tend to believe everything our government and the media tell us. This is the most effective way to brain wash the public. You fill their heads with propaganda and the rest is easy. We are considered to be the most illiterate people in the world when it comes to politics and international affairs, we seem to think that we are on the top of the world and everyone else should follow our lead. We don't seem to know that our country is run by foreign government and fanatics.
The majority of the Jews in Israel disagree with the Israeli government policies and their actions against the Palestinians and they all know how powerful the Jewish lobby is in the U.S. and they are concerned that the Israeli government and the Jewish lobby in the U.S. are causing more harm to the Jews themselves. Even the Orthodox Jews (the religious party) in Israel are ashamed of their own government and they even disagree with the way Israel came to exist and they claim Israel was illegally created by stealing someone else's land.
That's how powerful the Jewish Lobby is in the United State.

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to understand the influence of the Israel Lobby on US affairs!!!!

John J. Mearsheimer (R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and Program on International Security Policy - University of Chicago) and Stephen M. Walt (Professor of International Affairs - John F. Kennedy School of Government - Harvard University) should, in my opinion, be nominated for the Pulitzer prize in literature for this work. They won't be. Trust me.The Israel Lobby won't allow it.

For anyone who has an interest in Israeli-American relations, this book is now required reading. Furthermore, if you are interested in garnering a vastly greater understanding of the influence of special interest groups on the American political process, this book is a superb place to begin.

This book is controversial, not due to the positions the authors take or an imbalance in the way they delve into the issues, it is because the book is the most detailed and comprehensive look ever put in print regarding the genesis and current state of relations between the U.S. and Israel.

I found so many things so incredibly enlightening that I won't go into all of them here. One area that was terribly interesting is how right wing evangelicals in the U.S. have developed an intriguing, yet duplicitous relationship with Israel. There were also horrifying realities illuminated by the authors...realities some people would like us to forget or overlook.

However, this book contains incredibly important insights into the removing the obstacles that block the avenues for progress in establishing a legitimate homeland for the Palestinian people...a peace and place and a possibility whose realization is illuminated more clearly by this work from John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt.

The most tremendous work I've ever been privileged to read on illuminating the "way ahead" for understanding both current and future possibilities for U.S.- Israeli relations - and the fate of those who must have the courage to speak up for change and the realization of peace in the Middle East.

My vote for Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Hard to see how the authors could be seriously labelled "anti-Semitic". Not only do they support Israel's continued existence, but they encourage American aid should the Jewish state be existentially threatened. What they do not support is an expansionist Israel, nor an American Mid-east policy in lock-step with Israel's, nor an Israel lobby that prevents honest discussion of these issues. Calling the book anti-Semitic is simply an easy way of avoiding the substantive issues raised there. No need to discuss points already made by others, except to insist that the authors have shown how the discussion can proceed without the bloody shirt of anti-Semitism being tossed in.

The authors provide an excellent review of the US foreign policy in the Middle East and offer a new US strategy for this troubled region. The new strategy is based on identifying US interests in the region, protecting those interests, developing a new constructive relationship with Israel, ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution,and transforming the Israel loppy into a constructive force. It is by far the most realistic roadmap to peace and Just in the Middle East.

This is a fascinating volume, as time is progressing we are now finding more information in the public space of what happened in Palestine in 1948 which seems to give rise to all that has followed. I would suggest that most reasonably well read people would understand that the jewish lobby in the U.S. of A. has a significant influence on the administration, as it does on politicians in many other countries.
The arguments presented in this book really leave unanswered the question of just how powerful is the lobby.
It is reasonable to conclude that it was the major factor in the decision to invade Iraq.
In assessing the response to the recent NIE report on Iran from both the Lobby and the Israeli Knesset you are entitled to give great credibility to the work.
But just how powerful is the lobby, this book puts it in the category of "scary" in fact "very scary", the deeds and words of the current presidential candidates confirm this.
Most of the PAC's are not reasonable people, they are dishonest, indecent and fabricators of all manner and their influence way exceeds their number. Most readers shall find this book illuminating.

It is refreshing to see a competent academic response to the Pro-Israel lobby published in the mainstream media. I will bow to the eloquent praises of previous reviews and succinctly say this is an important and much-needed analysis of America's support for the Middle East's pariah.

It has been a very well known fact that from the very beginning Israel was against the US attacking Iraq and advised us NOT to do so and the reasons were many, destabilization of the area one of them. We chose not to listen to Israel (they DO have excellent intelligence) and invaded anyway. M&W blame the "lobby" for getting us into that debacle. When a book is so basically wrong what can you believe about the rest? Seriously flawed.

The entire issue concerning the zionist Jewish theft of Palestine, its war criminality, and my overwhelming support for Professors John Mearsheinmer and Stephen Walt is best explained by this remarkably profound statement by John Sheehan: "Everytime I hear someone say that Israel is the only friend we have in the Middle East I remember when, before there was an Israel, we had no enemies in the Middle East." That one single statement tells it all.

Yousef Salem

This book while well researched, and written by reputable scienties (God help their careers from now), has add nothing new. At least to my old knowledge. America which has been run by the Jew lobby since the 50s is unfortuantly not being able to recognize that the only firend they have in the middle east is actualy their only liability that is dragging them down. Hatred from across the globe, 9/11 and the economy slip are only the begging...We really need to be fair or we will realy be stripped off from being the superpower...

This book by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt is very informative. But to counter the threat of the Israeli lobby, which has proved to be immensely harmful to the United States and to the world, it is necessary to use an equal and opposite force, as the law of Physics states. Gentle, and scattered, both in time and place, written and verbal protests will not do any good. Of course, any action that has to be taken must be comlpetely non-violent and law abiding. We will have to use economic means. Nothing else will work.

Every so often I wonder when a US president will wake up, smell the coffee and realize that unconditional US support for Israel isn't all that helpful to the US. Or even to Israel.

Israel hasn't been in any great military danger to its existence ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is in plenty of danger from terrorism, yes, but none of its neighbors can win a war with it. On the other hand, some Arabs are ready to recognize it, assuming the Palestinians accept a peace settlement. Would likely peace terms suit Israel entirely? Doubtful, but settlements are usually give and take. Is holding on to Hebron worth another 50 years of this mess? The one thing that Israel really can't give ground on is allowing an unlimited right of return, a position shared by the authors.

This book really covers two things: how Israel manages to lobby itself into getting very very favorable US support. And how the US doesn't benefit all that much from providing that support. I understand foreign and military affairs well enough to agree that the cost benefit is not good for the US. I can't really comment on their view on how the lobby works, because it would require more knowledge about Washington special interest groups than I have.

Is it anti-Semitic to agree with the book? I happen to have the same opinions about Cuba, because Cuban-American pressure groups have managed to twist US foreign policy way out of line with its interests. So, yes, it is possible to influence US foreign policy by lobbying. Is it illegal? No, but pretending it doesn't happen is naive. Am I an anti-Cuban bigot? Not that I am aware of, but fire away anyway. For the record, I do support the existence of Israel.

Some problems with the book:

a) The authors claim that the influential parts of the lobby represents the right wing of both Israeli and American Jews, with little regard for the more moderate elements. But they do not explain much how this comes to pass, especially how the Likud agenda is much more represented than others' or how more moderate Israeli governments fail to use their leverage in the US to promote peace negociations.

A negotiated settlement is, IMHO, in the long term interest of Israel, but the authors do not explain sufficiently why it is so and why the bulk of the pressure groups is so much against it.

b) In general, there is insufficient coverage of Israel proper. Israel is a democracy that relies heavily on coalition governments due to its electoral system. Countries with similar systems include India and Italy. Both illustrate how hard it is to make difficult decisions and how easy it is for small parties to exercise disproportionate power. Understanding that sheds a lot of light on Israeli politics.

c) The book sometimes glosses over Israel's options in a very rosy light. For example, the Lebanon war is presented as being all Israel's fault. Well, how exactly do you deal with rockets launched from a sovereign neighboring country that doesn't bother stopping militias? Certainly NOT with cluster bombs, but diplomacy can only go so far. Again, the authors fail to inform re. Israeli particulars, which were that Olmert wanted to establish his military leadership credentials to the voters.

d) US policy can be unproductive in the Middle East, but in cases such as Iran, not all of the bad decisions come at Israel's suggestion. The US has a deep dislike of Iran and Israel occasionally gets along better with Iran than the US. The US management of Iraq, post-invasion, has been disastrous up to late 2006 at least, but more through neo-con hubris and incompetence than to any Jewish lobby.

Why dispiriting reading? Because the authors make it pretty clear the obtuseness of US Middle Eastern foreign policy is no accident. That makes it unlikely to change any time soon, despite their suggested remedies at the end.

Every so often I wonder when a US president will wake up, smell the coffee and realize that unconditional US support for Israel isn't all that helpful to the US. Or even to Israel.

Israel hasn't been in any great military danger to its existence ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is in plenty of danger from terrorism, yes, but none of its neighbors can win a war with it. On the other hand, some Arabs are ready to recognize it, assuming the Palestinians accept a peace settlement. Would likely peace terms suit Israel entirely? Doubtful, but settlements are usually give and take. Is holding on to Hebron worth another 50 years of this mess? The one thing that Israel really can't