Book Review

THE ISRAEL LOBBY AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

By

John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt

Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, N.Y., USA

Book Review by: Dr. Hussein Naguib - MuslimBridges

Few books in recent years have been as explosive or controversial as "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy" written by two eminent American Political Science Professors John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt. Mearsheimer is the Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the coordinator of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago. He has published several books including "The Tragedy of Great Power Policies". Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and was academic dean of the Kennedy School from 2002 to 2006. He is the author of: "Taming American Power: the Global Response to U.S. Primacy", among other books.

Mearsheimer and Walt begin their book by indicating that, despite profound disagreements among 2008 presidential candidates on almost every important issue facing the United States today (economy, Iraq war, health care, abortion, gay marriage, taxes, education, immigration, international trades etc), they all agree in one subject which is "to express their deep personal commitments to one foreign country-Israel- as well as their determination to maintain unyielding U.S. support for the Jewish State". This includes the three front runners: McCain (R), Clinton (D) and Obama (D).

Why does Israel, and no other country in the world, receive such consistent deference from America's leading politicians?  The authors argue in Part I of their book (Chapters 1 to 6), that there is no compelling strategic or moral rational for this unwavering support for Israel and that this has not been in America's best interest. In Part II (Chapters 7 to 11), Mearsheimer & Walt trace the lobby's impact on U.S. Middle East policy and conclude that its influence has been unintentionally harmful to the United States and Israel alike.  In the conclusion of the book, the authors present a new strategy to reverse the damage that have inflected the Middle East U.S. policies in recent years. A brief summary of each chapter is given below.

Part I: The United States, Israel and the Lobby (Chapters 1 to 6)

Chapter 1: The Great Benefactor

This chapter describes the scope of economic and military aids that the United States gives Israel, as well as the diplomatic support that Washington has provided in peace and war. As stated by the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin: America's generosity toward Israel is "beyond compare in modern history".

Economic Aids:

• Israel became the largest annual recipient of U.S. foreign aids in 1976, a position it has retained ever since.

• Israel currently receives on average $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year which amounts to a direct subsidy of more than $500 per year for each Israeli.

• Since 1982 Israel is the only country to receive the entire annual appropriation aids in the first thirty days of the fiscal year. Early transfer of the funds has enabled Israel to reinvest this money in the USA, earning some $660 M in extra interest as of 2004.

• Israel receives surplus U.S. military equipment free of charge or heavily discounted beyond the normal limits imposed by the 1976 Arms Export Control Act ($250 million annually) and in 1991 got an approval (one time only) to transfer $700 million worth of surplus U.S. equipment.

• Israel is the only country allowed to spend part of its U.S. military assistance funds to subsidize its own defense industry. By 2004, Israel became the world's eighth largest arms supplier.

• Israel is the only recipient of U.S. economic aid that does not have to account for how it is spent. This exemption makes it virtually impossible for the U.S. to prevent its subsidies from being used for purposes that it opposes, such as building settlements on the West Bank.

• Israel requested and received a $10 billion loan guarantees from the U.S. in 1990 and a $9 billion loan guarantee in 2004. The U.S. government does not provide fund directly for these loans but guarantees to reimburse private lenders in the event of default.

• Israel receives an estimated $2 billion annually in private donations from American citizens which are tax deductible; private donations to charities in most foreign countries are not tax deductible.

Military Aids:

• Israel's armed forces became one of the most technologically sophisticated militaries in the world by receiving access to top-drawer, state-of-the art, U.S. weaponry and by being linked to the U.S. defense and intelligence establishments through a diverse array of formal agreement and informal links.

• Israel enjoys unusual wide latitude in spending its military assistance funds by directly dealing with military contractors and by being the only country where contracts of less than $500,000 are exempt from U.S. review.

• The U.S. has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion in additional funds to develop weapons like the Lavi aircraft, the Merkava tanks, and the Arrow missile. The U.S. sometimes benefits from the technology that Israel firms developed but America would benefit more if these funds were used to support high-tech industries in the United States.

• The U.S. has turned a blind eye towards the development of WMD in Israel and the possession of nearly 200 nuclear weapons; and did little to pressure Israel to halt its nuclear program and sign the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Diplomatic Protection and Wartime Support:

• Between 1972 and 2006, the U.S. vetoed 42 UN Council resolutions that were critical to Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all the other Security Council members, and this does not even count those resolutions that did not come to a vote because of the U.S. Veto threat.

• The U.S. routinely backed Israel whenever the UN General Assembly passes one of the many resolutions condemning Israel behavior or calling for action on behalf of the Palestinians.

• Washington routinely prevents the International Atomic Energy Agency from placing Israel undeclared nuclear arsenal in its agenda.

• In the 1973 war, Israel encountered unexpected difficulties and began running short of critical supplies, however, Nixon & Kissinger order a full-scale airlift of vital military equipment, paid for with a $2.2 billion grant of supplementary military aid.

• Instead of sanctioning Israel for its ill-conceived invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the U.S. Congress voted to give Israel an additional $250 million in military assistance, over the strong objection of President Reagan and his Secretary of State Shultz.

• The U.S.'s tendency to side with Israel extends to peace negotiations following the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Chapter 2: Israel: Strategic Asset or Liability

Mearsheimer & Walt show that although Israel may have been an asset during the Cold War, it is now increasingly a strategic liability. They contended that the lobby has made the United States policy so strongly pro-Israel that it fuels Muslim terrorism against the United States, foster the spread of nuclear weapons in the Arab states and put at risk America's critical energy supplies from the Persian Gulf.

Israel provided U.S. with embarrassingly little intelligence on the Arab countries, but they did report to the U.S. what they were told by Russians Jewish immigrants. And, as the 1991 Gulf war showed, the U.S. refused Israel's military help against Saddam Hussein for fear of alienating Arabs allies who had joined the coalition against Saddam.

In addition, Israel sometimes does not act like a loyal ally to the U.S. Thus, in 1954, Israel agents tried to bomb several U.S. government offices in Egypt to create a crisis between Washington and Cairo; Israel sold military supplies to Iran while U.S. diplomats were being held hostage in 1979-80, and it had transferred American technology to third countries, including potential U.S. adversaries like China. These actions violate U.S. laws and threaten American interests. More worrying, however, are Israel's continued efforts to steal America's military secrets such as in the case of Jonathan Pollard in 1984-85, and the most recent espionage case, in 2004, involved a key Pentagon official collaborating with two senior AIPAC officials.  

Chapter 3: A Dwindling Moral Case

Mearsheimer & Walt examine the claim that the U.S. backs Israel because of shared "democratic values", because Israel is weak and vulnerable (David facing a powerful Arab Goliath), because its past and present conduct is more ethical than its adversaries' behavior, or because it has always sought peace while its neighbors always choose war. They conclude that while there is a strong moral case for Israel existence, the moral case for giving it such generous and largely unconditional support is not compelling. In fact, the authors argue that a good case can be made that current U.S. policy conflicts with basic American values and that if the United States were to choose sides on the basis of moral considerations alone, it would back the Palestinians, not Israel. To wit, they challenge the notion of shared common values by citing authoritative polls indicating that "55% of Israeli Jews wanted segregated entertainment facilities, while more than 75% said they would not live in the same building as an Israeli Arab. "This is Israel in 2007 and not the Jim Crow South of 1950". Such discriminatory beliefs translated into law, which "are not consistent with America's image of a multi-ethnic democracy in which all citizens are supposed to be treated equally regardless of their ancestry."

Chapter 4: What is the "Israel Lobby?

Mearsheimer & Walt identify the "Israel lobby" as a loose coalition of individuals or organizations that actively work to shape the US foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. They stress that the lobby is not a single unified movement, that its different elements sometimes disagree on certain issues, and that it includes both Jews and non-Jews, including the so called Christian Zionists. Organizations that constitute part of the lobby's core include the American Israel Public Affair Committee (AIPAC), the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Israel Policy Forum, the American Jewish Community, the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, the Middle East Forum, and Christians United for Israel (CUI). In addition, individuals who occasionally write letters supporting Israel to their local newspapers or send checks to pro-Israel political action committee should be considered as part of the broader network of supporters.

Other topics included in this chapter are the role of the neoconservatives and the Christian Zionists organizations and individuals, and the question of dual loyalty.  It also discussed whether Arab-American groups, the so called "Oil Lobby", are either a significant counterweight to the Israel lobby or even the real driving forces behind the US Middle East policy.

Chapter 5: Guiding the Policy Process

This chapter describes the strategy used by the lobby to encourage steadfast U.S. support to Israel by exerting significant influence on the policy-making process in Washington.  AIPAC plays a key role in this task through its ability to reward legislators and congressional candidates who support its agenda and to punish who do not, based on its capacity to influence campaign contributions. Mearsheimer & Walt describe several approaches used by AIPAC to achieve its target and provide numerous examples of how the lobby functions to get people elected or unelected purely based on their political stance toward Israel.

The lobby also exerts significant influence on the executive branch which is driven in part from the impact of Jewish voters on presidential elections. Despite their small numbers in the population (less than 3%), American Jews make large campaign donations to candidates from both parties (as much as 60% of total donations). In addition, they have high turnout rates and are concentrated in key states like California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, which increases their weight in determining who becomes president. Furthermore, key organizations in the lobby directly target the administration in power.

Chapter 6: Dominating Public Discourse

This chapter is a continuation of the previous one describing a second strategy used by the lobby to shape public discourse about Israel. This is achieved by putting pressure on the media and academia, and by establishing a tangible presence in influential foreign policy think tanks.

Mearsheimer & Walt argue that the lobby does not have control on the media as it is generally believed. However, it works so hard to monitor and influence what the mainstream media says about Israel. The lobby success is due to a substantial number of American commentators who write about Israel are themselves pro-Israel, and the inability of pro-Arab groups to gain support from any of the best known and nationally-syndicated columnists.

"One of the lobby's most energetic media watchdog groups is the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA). It has been especially critical to National Public Radio (NPR) as being pro-Palestine. In 2003, CAMERA organized demonstrations outside NPR stations in 33 cities and tried to convince contributors to withhold support from NPR until its Middle East coverage became more sympathetic to Israel. In 2006, CAMERA ran a full-page advertisement in the New York Times criticizing Jimmy Charter' book Palestine: Peace not Apartheid, ads that included the publisher's phone number and encourage readers to call and complain."

Numerous examples are also given on the influence of the lobby in universities, academic institutions, and think tank organizations.

Part II: The Lobby in Action (Chapters 7 to 11)

Chapter 7: The Lobby versus the Palestinians:

After September 11 attacks, the Bush Administration sought to reduce the Anti-American sentiment in the Arab and Islamic World by pressing Israel to halt its expansionist policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and by advocating the Creation of a Palestinian State. Israel leaders were alarmed by these developments. Sharon and the pro-Israel lobby moved quickly to resolve their growing concerns by convincing the Bush administration and the American people that the U.S. and Israel are facing a common threat from terrorists (Yasser Arafat = Osama Bin Laden ; Palestinian Resistance = Al Qaeda).

Mearsheimer & Walt describe numerous events in which the Bush Administration had to change its stand and abandoned its strategy under the lobby's pressure. For example, one event took place on March 2002 when the Israeli army resumed control of virtually all of the major Palestinian areas on the West Bank. Sharon and the lobby humiliated the Bush administration by refusing to halt the incursion, pressuring the U.S. congress to override the administration's objectives and reaffirming support for Israel. Furthermore, a House appropriations subcommittee recommended giving Israel $200 million to fight terrorists which Bush reluctantly approved, giving Israel the money!

On June 2002, Bush launched the Roadmap initiative, which was supposed to provide a clear timetable leading to an independent and democratic Palestinian state. However, Sharon (and then Olmert) chose to impose his own settlement on the Palestinians by pushing forward his own plan for unilateral disengagement. Israel would dictate the terms of the settlement, and in the end, the Palestinians would not get a state of their own. In 2006, renewed efforts by the Bush administration to revive the roadmap initiative had failed and Bush ended up instead backing Sharon/Olmert's chosen policy at every turn.  

Chapter 8: Iraq and Dreams of Transforming the Middle East

Mearsheimer & Walt emphasize that the September 11 attacks had a profound impact on the Bush administration's foreign policy and the decision to attack Iraq in March 2003. But the Israel lobby was a critical factor, a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a war that is a strategic disaster for the U.S. and a boon for Iran, Israel's most serious regional adversary.

The authors show that a small band of neoconservatives was the driving force behind the Iraq war and the use of American power to reshape critical areas of the world, specifically the Middle East. In addition, key leaders of the major pro-Israel organizations, such as AIPAC, lent their voices to the campaign for war. They were heavily invested in the idea that through the invasion and occupation, the U.S. would quickly turn Iraq into a democracy.  This would then serve as an attractive model for people living into the various authoritative states in the region, providing friendlier environment for America and Israel. The plan was a stunning failure.

As the Bush administration faces growing pressure to pull out of Iraq, the Israeli leaders have encouraged it to stay and finish the job. Why? Because these leaders believe that a U.S. withdrawal would jeopardize Israel's security regardless of the U.S. strategic losses in the area.

Chapter 9: Taking Aim at Syria

This chapter describes the evolution of America's difficult relationship with the Assad regime in Syria. The authors document how the lobby has pushed Washington to adopt confrontational policies toward Syria in support of what the Israel government wanted.

Mearsheimer and Walt indicate that Syria does not constitute a military threat to the United States or Israel. However, Syria's ability to create trouble rests mostly in its support to a number of the so called "terrorist organizations" notably Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. These organizations constitute threats to Israel, but not directly to the United States. In fact, after September 11, the Syrian government provided the United States with important intelligence reports about al Qaeda, and had also warned Washington about a planned terrorist attack in the Gulf. Moreover, Syria gave CIA interrogators access to Mohammad Zammar, the alleged recruiter of 9/11 attackers. Targeting Syria would jeopardize these valuable connections and undermine the campaign against international terrorism in general and al Qaeda in particular.

"The story here is a simple one: without the lobby's influence, there would have been no Syrian Accountability Act and U.S. policy toward Damascus would have been more in line with the American national interest. One would add that a different policy might well have produced a Syrian-Israeli peace treaty by now, a treaty that would have further enshrined Israel's legitimacy and regional supremacy and reduced international support for its determined recalcitrant, and violent foes: Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad."     

Chapter 10: Iran in the Crosshairs

In this chapter, Mearsheimer and Walt trace the lobby's role in the United States policy toward Iran. Washington and Tehran have had an adversarial relationship ever since the 1979 revolution that overthrew the Shah and established the Islamic Republic. Israel also has come to see Iran as its most serious adversary, in light of its nuclear ambitions and its support to groups like Hezbollah. Accordingly, Israel and the lobby have repeatedly pushed the United States to go after Iran, encouraging a regime change, funding opposition groups, and imposing economic sanctions. The results, unfortunately, is that Iran's nuclear ambitions have increased and Iran's hard-liners (such as the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) have come to power, making a difficult situation worse.

Chapter 11: The Lobby and the Second Lebanese War

In the summer of 2006, Israel fought a 34 day war with Hezbollah, the Shia organization that control the Southern part of Lebanon. Mearsheimer and Walt argue that "Israel's response to Hezbollah's provocation was both strategically foolish and morally wrong, yet the lobby's influence made it hard for the U.S. officials to do anything except strongly back Israel". Thus, the Bush administration provided Israel with extraordinary support, which included safeguarding Israel interests in the UN Security Council, providing Israel with military intelligence during the conflict, and quickly replacing Israel's depleted arsenal of precision-guided bombs. In addition, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a strongly worded resolution condemning Hezbollah and support Israel policy in Lebanon.

Despite the strong support from the United States, Israel failed to achieve its military or political objectives and Hezbollah emerged from the war with its popularity and prestige significantly enhanced. The U.S. interests suffered from its outright support for Israel's actions, particularly its attack on Lebanese civilian targets using American-made cluster bombs. It certainly increased the hostility towards the United States and generated more public support to terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Conclusion: What Is to Be Done?

In the final chapter Mearsheimer and Walt explore how the failure of the U.S. polices in the Middle East, caused by the lobby's influence, would be corrected and improved. They indicate that the U.S. has three strategic interests in the Middle East: 1) maintaining access to the oil and gas located in the Persian Gulf; 2) discouraging the Middle East States from acquiring weapons of mass destruction; and 3) reducing anti-American terrorism. They believe that the U.S. should support Israel's existence but ultimately this goal is not of critical strategic importance to the United States.

The authors suggest that the United States would achieve the above strategic objectives in the Middle East through the following actions:

• Abandon the Bush administration's policy of forced regional democratic transformation in the Middle East which has kept a large number of American troops in the region.

• Readopt the U.S. strategy of offshore rapid deployment forces, stationed over the horizon or in the United States, to be deployed only when there are direct threat to its vital interests and only when local actors cannot handle these threats on their own.

• After 60 years of extraordinary support, it is time for the United States to treat Israel not as a special state but as a normal state. This means the United States should support Israel's right to exist just as it supports the existence of France, Mexico or Saudi Arabia.

• Treating Israel as a normal country implies that the US should gradually wean Israel from the economic and military aids that it currently provided using America's tax payers.

• The United States should use its considerable leverage to bring an end for the Israeli-Palestinian conflictby achievinga comprehensiveArab-Israeli peace on all fronts, and the commitment to two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

• The United States should make it crystal clear that it is dead set against Israel's expansionist policy- including the land-grabbing "security fence"- which is not in the America' or Israel's long term interests.

• Israelmust acknowledge the right of return of displaced Palestinians to the land they fled in 1948.

• TheUnited Nationorganizes a generous program of reconstruction of Palestine and to compensate for the Palestinians their losses in the last 60 years.

• Encourage a more open debate about the U.S. policy in the Middle East to correct existing myths, to force the lobby to defend itself in the face of a well informed opposition, and to reject the silencing tactics that some groups and individuals in the lobby continue to employ.

"The Israel Lobby" is an excellent scientific study supported by hundreds of references and footnotes covering 106 pages out of a total of 484 pages. The book is a must for Political Science teachers and students, and for any one interested in U.S. foreign policy. It is also highly recommended for those who care to understand how a small, but extremely powerful lobby, could manipulate the policy of a superpower such as the United States.  More importantly the book presents a roadmap for a change in the U.S. policy in the Middle East that would address the strategic interest of the U.S. and revive its role as a leader of the free world. "Change" is the slogan for this year (2008) presidential election. The question is are we ready for the change?

Book in a Spoon