I've read four full pages of this thread. I think that the following article is a fitting response that sums up my reaction to the "black and white" views that have been posted over the four pages:
From the " the cynic librarian":
Quote:
http://faithisrisk.blogspot.com/2006...us-expand.html
<b>Defining why Israel's interests do not in any way coincide with US interests is not an easy matter.</b> After the many years of careful and deliberate PR and media campaigns, it is almost a given that what affects Israel affects me or mine. That might be so--but it should not affect me in a disproportionately unjust way that I harm others who deserve the same respect as I pay Israel.
<b>Coming to the conclusion that Israel's interests do not always or necessarily reflect US interests is not easy to make for people with little time to study foreign policy and the ways of propaganda.</b> They are easily swayed and often take what their politicians do as representing their best interests.
Quote:
<a href="http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/07/us_policy_in_le.html">Those who do have training and experience in the Mideast come to some very difficult conclusions concerning Israel. Ray Close, a former CIA analyst in the Near East division, as well as a Member, Steering Group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, recently wrote:</a>
<b>"Open confrontation of Hizballah by the United States, allied with Israel, will have a powerful impact on the Iranian people, as well. Argue, if you will, that Iran is a known supporter of Hizballah and Hamas, and thus of international terrorism. That is a reality that none can deny. But let’s prioritize our national interests here. It is the people of Iraq and Iran on whom we depend not just for “regime change” in the short term, but for peace and stability (and resistance to terrorism) throughout the region in the decades ahead. It is the people of those countries whose trust and respect we must win. It is the trust and respect of those people that we have lost --- to a significant extent because we are identified in their minds with the narrow interests of Israel. Why is that so difficult for Americans to understand?
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As you note, the importance of how closely the US aligns itself with Israeli interests affect not only US security but also the life and well-being of many in the Mideast. The US should return to its tradition of fair play and equal treatment. Don't be played like a rube in a game whose outcome is foretold in advance and which only enriches the deceiver.
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Some of us have made the time to do our own research, outside of the filtered stream of "news" that many people "know what they know", as a result of. I cannot stress the signifigance of the fact that a search of the NY Times website, indicates that <b>they have never reported on JINSA.</b> Each of you owes it to yourself to inform yourself independently, if you truly hope to put what is happening now in the M.E., in a context that balances American interests, vs. the interests of all of the other parties involved. If you can see yourself described the way the article above does, in this phrase:
Quote:
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<b>Coming to the conclusion that Israel's interests do not always or necessarily reflect US interests is not easy to make for people with little time to study foreign policy and the ways of propaganda.</b>
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then you've got work to do...and it never stops....it's a lifelong pursuit, IMO...
Read the thread here on poliics, titled "Chemical Attack"....you may observe that there is much more independent information linked and displayed in the posts there, than in the four pages on this thread....