Harvard: Support of Israel, Democracy Jeopardizes U.S. Security

Stephen M. Walt, Dean of Harvard's Kennedy School, and John Mearsheimer, a professor of political science and co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, have published a paper on "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" which blames support of Israel and the push for democracy for jeopardizing U.S. security. The paper aims to roll back the U.S. - Israel relationship, roll back U.S. efforts for the democratization of the Middle East, and end the post-9/11 foreign policy efforts of the Bush Administration.

As The New York Sun writes, "If the Islamists only hate America because of our support for Israel, why are they setting off bombs in Indonesia and Spain, which are hardly in the vanguard of support for Israel? How would abandoning Israel assuage the angry Islamists rather than encouraging them to press on to completing their end goal of making all of America subject to Islamic law?"

Shmuel Rosner of Ha'aretz slams the report in his blog, Rosner's Domain. He "concluded it is biased, one-sided, foolish, repetitive, and most of all, has nothing new to offer."

We are spending the next few hours dissecting this abomination and will follow with a complete report and retort. Check back at Vital Perspective later in the day for a rundown.

Comments

[Harvey Goldamier]

I've read the paper. More than half the paper is dedicated to citations. The amount of research is pretty obvious because the quotes almost weave the entire paper's direction. I hate it when people criticize Israel but I hate it more when my fellow countrymen get offended when the truth is exposed. The paper makes a great case for the divergent political goals of the United Staes and Israel. As Jews in America, you can't possibly get angry that Americans are questioning your loyalties. It's their country and you need to play by their rules. How would we like it if someone came into Israel pumping millions of dollars into our leadership for goals that didn't serve Israel but a minority interest just like AIPAC has in the US? We would be upset and would ban the organization.

I sincerely look forward to your review but I wonder if you will be able to put forth academic arguments to defend the position of US and Israel interests being same. I don't think it's possible to do that. Maybe then we just resort to calling anyone who disagrees with Jews to be anti-Semitic, Jew-hater, or whatever else we say to silence legit discussion on these topics.

[Cynic]

Harvey,
Why is it that Americans only question a Jew's loyalty? Because they feel that they can bully them? But of course if was not antisemitism they would question a person's loyalty, not a community's loyalty.

You write:
" As Jews in America, you can't possibly get angry that Americans are questioning your loyalties. It's their country and you need to play by their rules."

So Jews born in America and their descendents from the time of the War of Independence are not Americans> See how antisemitic you are?
Or are you a self-hating Jew? Like Pappe, Finkelstein and co?
Just look at how many of CAIR's associates have been arrested on terrorism charges and you are not questioning their supporter's loyalty. Why's that?
We have witnessed how your politically correct politicians shake in their boots if anyone points a finger at Muslims.
By the way Americans have always been disliked to some degree or other because of envy of America's power, economy and Hollywood's brazen presentation of such wealth. Especially by the Europeans under French sway who would love to trounce American influence.
During the cold war Israel was good for America's security, wasn't it? Better than if they had been on Moscow's side.
Then again maybe you are playing both sides of the coin.

The arabs have never liked Americans or Brits or the other Europeans and certainly not those muslims they consider inferior to themselves. Why, their sects hate each other to a degree that they kill each other. More extreme than those Jews who hate other Jews, Israelis and supporters of the descendents of the death camps and muslim dhimmis who escaped the arab countries.
Only the immediate rulers of the arab states practice their taqiyya and hold hands with GWB while hating America, send their princes to Britain, Paris or Monte Carlo to partake in practices not permitted under the gaze of their subjects.

Amazing that America's academia can feel so threatened by that "shitty little state" or is that just an excuse to hide their cowardice in the face of an implacable enemy?
But their Intel powered laptops, VOIP, instant messaging, data transmission for Mars rovers, Stents to keep open veins, agricultural innovations (even for Americans) and improvements to American planes and armaments would be more acceptable from arab inventors? Then America would be loved?