[National Interest/Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Ben Fishman - The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt consistently misrepresents U.S. decision-making in the Middle East. Mearsheimer and Walt manufacture causal connections between the lobby's activities and American actions that Bush Administration insiders rebuke. The book does not include any interviews with current or former government officials about the lobby's influence on foreign policy. Although the book appears to contain much documented research, its authors fail to capture the realities of policy formation and present a series of letters, statements and rallies by supporters of Israel as evidence of the lobby's manipulation of Washington. Their description of American foreign policy is often inaccurate or misleading, and their overall thesis is contradicted by central figures in their story. The writer is a researcher and special assistant to former Ambassador Dennis Ross at the Washington Institute.
2007-08-29 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive