American foreign policy « Previous Entries

Newsflash: AIPAC (probably) isn’t pushing for an attack on Iran

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

I have read even more drivel than usual about AIPAC in the blogosphere these days, and thought I would explain a few things to those who have never attended an AIPAC Policy Conference.
First of all, AIPAC does not appear to be trying to prod the U.S. to bomb Iran. If it is, I have not […]

From Rabbi Don Quixote: Why the new Middle East peace lobby has a chance

Monday, May 26th, 2008

The scoffers are coming out of the woodwork. After all the hoopla over the new J Street project, in separate conversations, two friends have expressed skepticism about the Jewish peace camp’s ability to offer more than token resistance to AIPAC’s lobbying juggernaut.
AIPAC has 100,000 members and its operating budget is somewhere between $40-50 […]

Don’t just sit there and complain about American policy. Help J Street

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

At long last, the urgently-needed “J Street” project has been officially launched. It has generated a great deal of media attention, much of it positive, but the most important story by far was in yesterday’s Washington Post:
Some of the country’s most prominent Jewish liberals are forming a political action committee and lobbying group aimed at […]

Aaron David Miller: The pro-Israel community has won, so stop “geshraying” already

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

Aaron David Miller has a stirring piece in the LA Times that deserves to be quoted in full.
A note on my headline:”geshray” is Yiddish for “wail.” Other than that, believe it or not (is everyone sitting down? Get ready…), I have nothing to add! Nothing more needs to be said, as far as I’m […]

Will Obama, Clinton or McCain make Israel-Palestine a priority on Day 1?

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

To gauge what the presidential candidates might do about the ongoing Arab-Israeli nightmare, one has to make inferences based on inflections, hints, nuances and tea leaves. What they or their campaign staffers say now is at least as important as the identity of 4 or 5 of the many “foreign policy advisors” who have […]

So just who are Obama’s Middle East advisors? Finally, some clarifications…

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008

Clarifications –i.e., light, as opposed to heat– about Obama’s Middle East advisors are provided by Jack Levin, an Obama friend and campaign insider quoted in Gidon Remba’s Tough Dove Israel. Almost the exact same language can be found on a blog called The Sunny Side, which quotes Eric Lynn, who is on Obama’s staff.
Here […]

The smears against Rob Malley continue, but former U.S. officials rise to his defense

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

James Besser has a balanced and informative piece on the ongoing Rob Malley fracas in New York Jewish Week. Among other things, we learn that the offensive smear campaign against Malley and, by extension, Obama has not abated: “In the days leading up to this week’s Democratic primary in Maryland, Jewish voters in Baltimore […]

Rob Malley: the Willy Horton of right wing Jewish nut jobs

Friday, February 1st, 2008

Unable to find anything in his past to prove that Barack Obama will sell Israel down the river, right wing bloggers in my community are now focusing on one of his Middle East advisors, Robert Malley. Malley served various roles in the Clinton Administration and was President Clinton’s special assistant during the Camp David […]

What to do about the Gaza Strip emergency…

Friday, January 25th, 2008

In the last thread, Richard Witty asked what I thought of Israel’s behavior in the Gaza Strip and what I would do about the situation. My response was, “I haven’t the faintest idea.” But Americans for Peace Now just released a statement that makes a lot of sense. You will also find an […]

AB Yehoshua wants U.S. pressure and denounces the Israel lobby: Anything new here?

Monday, January 21st, 2008

Richard Silverstein’s Tikun Olam notes that Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua called for removing the U.S. ambassador to Israel and attacked America’s Israel lobby. But he missed a few nuances. I might be the only one in the universe who cares about these nuances, as they touch upon some of the work I’ve tried to […]

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