(American Interest) Walter Russell Mead - The "blame Israel first" crowd continues to interpret the Iran-U.S. crisis as an example of a sinister Israel lobby pushing the U.S. into a war to serve the ambitions of the Jewish state. Not only does this analysis miss the vital U.S. interests at stake in the region and the threat Iran poses to a balance of power the United States needs, it misses the reality that for several years now some of the strongest, most consistent pressures on Washington to act against Iran have come from the Arab world. The Arab Lobby's strong pressure for war against Iran is a major factor in French, British and even German hawkishness as well in this crisis. But the blame Israel firsters don't care; if we have a war with Iran they will know who to blame.
2012-02-10 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive