>Naji Dahi wrote:
>
>>Support to Israel has not been driven by the geopolitical interests of the
>>US. It is driven by the strength of AIPAC.
>
>If Israel served US military interests, then if Jews hated Israel, it would
>still get our support- as do a number of Arab countries like Saudi Arabia
>which Jews in the US have little fondness for. The US has wanted as many
>military controls in the region as possible, from Iran to Israel to Egypt to
>Saudi Arabia. Some have backfired (Iran) or been less effective than
>desired, but the oppression of the Palestinians by the Kuwaitis (mass
>expulsion after the Gulf War) serves the US interests as much as the
>oppression in the West Bank.
I don't subscribe to the "It's the power of AIPAC" explanation, but it's not at all clear what US military interests are being served by the present Israeli policy toward Arafat, the PLO, and Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. Surely a two-state solution would better serve US military (and other) interests than what Sharon is doing now, no? Perhaps we need to explain why the Empire is incapable of doing what appears to be in its interest.
Those of us who are not happy with "It's the power of AIPAC" explanation -- including yours truly -- are obligated to provide a credible alternative explanation, rather than a simple assertion that Israel serves US military interests; absent a good explanation, it's no wonder many gravitate toward a default explanation (= AIPAC). -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>