The Israeli Lobby and the U.S. Response to the War in Lebanon

On 28 August 2006, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)sponsored a panel discussion on “The Israeli Lobby and the U.S. Responseto the War in Lebanon” at the National Press Club, Washington, DC. StephenWalt (Kennedy School of Government, Harvard) and John Mearsheimer(University of Chicago), authors of the controversial article “The IsraeliLobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” were featured.The panel began with opening remarks by Corey Saylor (governmentaffairs director, CAIR) and Nihad Awad (executive director, CAIR). Awaddiscussed the war in Lebanon and the situation in Gaza, described Israel’sdropping of cluster bombs on civilian Lebanese towns, quoted a HumanRights Watch report that states Israel does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, as well as an Amnesty International report describingIsraeli actions in Lebanon as war crimes. He concluded: “Our one-sided supportfor Israel is a liability in the war on terror. It has turned much of theworld, including our European allies, against us.”Stephen Walt summarized the main arguments of his research articlewith John Mearsheimer. Among them are that comprehending the recent warin Lebanon requires an understanding of the pro-Israel groups’ politicalpower in the United States; that the Israeli lobby’s influence has led to policiesthat are not in the United States’ national interest, or in those of theregion’s countries, including Israel; and that $3 billion of American taxpayers’money is given unconditionally to a wealthy industrial nation. Hequoted former American negotiator Aaron Miller’s remark that the UnitedStates acted as Israeli’s lawyer during Oslo and has been even more onesidedunder President Bush ...