Neither Joe's arguments nor SA's will have an impact on
> events in the Middle East.
>
I don't know that this is entirely fair. Of course my bloviations on listservs would, in isolation, accomplish nothing; but they do reflect my small role in actual movements, one of which certainly deserves some share of the credit for the United States realigning itself vis-à-vis Israel. As George Galloway said in London a week ago, "The United States being two-faced is an advance on what they used to be, which is unequivocal supporters of everything Israel did" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zQsjRubd2U). I don't buy the Chomsky line on Israel as an American proxy, but the United States certainly exercises a significant degree of influence over its behavior (although probably not as much as we're paying for!), and shifting politics here will inevitably affect events there.
-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."