-----Original Message----- From: Heer, Jeet (National Post) [mailto:JHeer at nationalpost.com]
As mentioned earlier, I think the focus of any real understanding of Israel's role in the Middle East has to include the over-riding context of U.S. foreign policy. Just as the settlers serve as an attack dog the Israeli's can unleash on the Palestinians, Israel itself has become (post 1967), America's attack dog against Arab nationalism. Some zionists are actually proud of this role: I remember an ad from FLAME which celebrated Israel as a giant military base that the U.S. can call upon when needed. By becoming a mercenary army on behalf of the US, Israel has deferred any chance of becoming a "normal state". So instead of focusing on Israeli "facism" it might be better to look at U.S. imperialism.
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