placing the palestinian struggle

[Dennis Perrin]

> Everything I know about how U.S. power works internationally tells me
> that the U.S. marches to its own drummer, choosing policies that will
> sustain or enhance this country's wealth and/or power. Why in this
> case a domestic political lobby should take precedence over imperial
> interest is something that needs to be more rigorously explained than
> this.
>
> Doug

Agreed. As Chomsky has pointed out, the role of Israeli lobbies is largely
overblown, for if it should ever be in the state interest of the US to cut
Israel off, it will, lobbies notwithstanding. Blaming the lobbies for
running US ME policy helps those who hold real power and make the real
decisions. It borders on the conspiratorial, i.e., the "dark hand" that
cunningly guides US actions from the shadows, and so on.

What I find amazing is that Bush/Cheney have been made relatively immobile
by Israel's aggression. Apart from Bush's standard peeps about standing
side-by-side with our valiant democratic ally, the administration seems
truly confused about what to do. Are they really down for an all-out war
between the US/Israel and the entire Arab world? I'm sure there's some
dissent in the White House regarding this mad scenario, but I've seen little
of it.

DP