The Logic of Meirsheimer/Walt is "America Ought Not to Be Allied to Israel"

Submitted by John Gelles (United States), May 12, 2006 at 19:24

Many Americans like myself believe America and Israel are strategic allies in the war on Islamic terrorism and in desiring a peace that is democratic and supportive of human rights everywhere.

We believe, moreover, that individuals have the right to insist on Israel's national right to self-defense modeled more closely on American history than on any other nation's.

Although individuals can be members of a legal or de facto lobby, I am not and neither is Daniel Pipes a lobbyist by any definition of the word..

So who are Meirsheimer and Walt to want our nation to break its alliance with Israel? Why do they find the history of Israel in the Middle East unworthy?

It cannot be purely their "leftist" ideology . Israel has a history of support for : human rights; a social contract to curb many of the abuses of a mindless market ; and the values expressed in America's founding documents as though Israel were bound by them as tightly as we Americans are.

It cannot be that they are "rightists" : nothing in their argument smacks of that.

So they are either soft core anti-Semites or wedded to a double standard that promotes outcomes long associated with anti-Semitism on both kinds.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".