THE SPINE SEPTEMBER 14, 2007
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Geore Shultz is now just under 87 years old. He has no one he needs to please. Indeed, he is a paradigmatic figure from the old establishment that, for all its intimacy with each other, had a certain intellectual strength and a deep sense of non-bullying patriotism. Alas, despite the fact that Shultz remains a paradigmatic type for responsible leadership, there is almost no public servant either among the Republicans or the
Democrats who follows the paradigm. You can measure his independence simply by noting that he has been in the forefront of the campaign for the legalization of recreational drugs, not exactly a neo-con cause.
Shultz's career has ranged widely in the academy at half of the top
universities in the country. He was chairman of the Council of Economic
Advisers, director of the Office of Management and Budget, secretary of
labor, secretary of the treasury and secretary of state. And, inter alia,
he has been chairman of the the board of the Bechtel Corporation, a truly
enormous business the foundation of whose activities were in the Arab
world. This is not a person who would be taken in by the kind of Jewish
lobby for Israel which Mearsheimer and Walt describe.
In any case, Shultz has now written about Walt and Mearsheimer and their
book in U.S. News & World Report, and he finds it laughable. Not in the funny
sense but in the pathetic sense:
Anyone who thinks that Jewish groups constitute a homogeneous "lobby" ought to spend some time dealing with them. For example, my decision to open a dialogue with Yasser Arafat after he met certain conditions evoked a wide spectrum of responses from the government of Israel, its political parties, and American Jewish groups who weighed in on one side or the other. Other examples in which the United States rejected Israel's view of an issue, or the view of the American Jewish community, include the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia and President Reagan's decision to go to the cemetery at Bitburg, Germany.
The United States supports Israel not because of favoritism based on political pressure or influence but because the American people, and their leaders, say that supporting Israel is politically sound and morally just.
This man has lived a truly responsible life in the public arena. Read him
and take him seriously.
26 comments
I respect Shultz and his experiences and this offers yet another credible rebuttal to W & M thesis... and let's be precise Peretz, even in your glee to find a credible voice supporting your viewpoint... I read Schultz as not refuting that pro Israel lobby groups exist - it would come as a surprise to many that AIPAC is, after all, a mere chimera - but that the myth rests in its all reaching influence and in contentions that AIPAC and other pro israel lobbies act in concert, in one voice... The big question, that Schultz doesn't really answer is just how much influence on US policies do these groups exert? Is it equivalent to the impact of other groups? Less? The same? There are certainly arguments - and scuttles former congressman and senators - that the combined impact is strong. But, again, trying to quantify this is hard. But, this is a good article.
- MrCookie1
September 14, 2007 at 11:46am
I do have a question for Peretz: Can someone you disagrees with you ever earn the Peretzian seal of wisdom? The reason I ask is that you have a tendency to apply this only to people who support your viewpoints. So, the standard for wisedom is agreement with the creative reality of Peretz? I ask you...
- MrCookie1
September 14, 2007 at 12:48pm
The endnote to the George Schultz article is:
Abraham Foxman, of course, leads the so-called Anti-Defamation League and has played a notorious role as one of the principal leaders of the Israel lobby. His book was clearly meant as a rebuttal to the Walt and Mearsheimer book - and from the accounts I have read he has failed.
- ndmackenzie
September 14, 2007 at 12:53pm
Shultz represents the kind of pro-business, internationalist, non-religious and socially-sane mugwump that used to dominate the GOP. Don't be surprised if his ilk starts to rise to the forefront-- if not in 2008 then in 2009-- as the depth of the W-fundie-southern strategy catastrophe sets in. Evidence that it's already dawning on GOPers that the old Rove-Atwater southern strategy's a dead end: -- George Will urging conservatives to put aside their abortion obsession and consider Rudy -- WF Buckley going against W on Iraq -- numerous strategists and pundits urging a new "northern strategy" focused on that old-time GOP religion, tax cuts and elevation of economics while suppressing talk about social issues Mark my word, the GOP post-2009 will be back to the future. Shultz, Weinberger, GHWB, Danforth, Javits, Bill Milliken then; McCain Rudy Bloomie Ahnuld today.
- teplukhin
September 14, 2007 at 12:57pm
It should come as no surprise that American Jews who, after all, are disproportionately wealthy, are also disproportionately influential. To ascribe evil intent to such influence feels a bit like a resurrection of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" to me. Even Zbigniew Bryszinski, no lover of Israel, understands that Jewish lobbying is no different from Cuban lobbying or that of any other ethnicity for their special interests. The fact that only the Israel lobby, among these others, is targeted speaks volumes.
- r-ennis
September 14, 2007 at 1:22pm
vis-a-vis Russia policy :-)
- teplukhin
September 14, 2007 at 1:28pm
Anyone who thinks that Jewish groups constitute a homogeneous "lobby" ought to spend some time dealing with them. Considering that W & M also explicitly offer this same point in the beginning of their original essay, one must beg the question: Are these people reading the subject of their pieces before putting pen to paper? One suspects not. I think W & M overstate their case by a long way, but rebuttals are not aided by being laced with straw men.
- jfelliott
September 14, 2007 at 2:20pm
what accounts? can u refer me to these accounts please? coz all i found were accounts of how he successfully refutes the W&M thesis, or so-called thesis.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 3:53pm
what accounts? can u refer me to these accounts please? coz all i found were accounts of how he successfully overthrows the W&M thesis, or so-called thesis.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 3:55pm
what accounts? can u refer me to these accounts please? coz all i found were accounts of how he successfully refutes the W&M thesis, or so-called thesis.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 4:12pm
what accounts? can u refer me to these accounts please? coz all i found were accounts of how he successfully refutes the W&M thesis, or so-called thesis.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 4:12pm
what am i doing so terribly wrong? it's not the first time this shit is happening to me.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 4:14pm
that happens to me too. Do you have an ibook? Something crazy..locks up every now and then... I think most folks know it's a computer glitch...not that you have some kind of electronic Tourrettes...
- MrCookie1
September 14, 2007 at 4:21pm
Part of the problem is that TNR's site is remarkably slow. Often, I hit "Submit" and wait for three or four minutes before anything happens. A lot of people (myself included, occasionally) hit the submit button multiple times when there's no response, causing multiple posts.
- ratnerstar
September 14, 2007 at 4:29pm
what's that? i'm from the sand dunes of the middle east man! ibook... i probably don't. all i see is a couple of camels engaged in some lewd activity right next to me. that can't be an ibook, can it? electronic Tourrettes. u made me laugh.
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 4:49pm
the nazi mackenzie is raving again! get back on your meds, lady.
- jacksondyer
September 14, 2007 at 7:56pm
he will get back here and gimme pointers to those accounts he was reading!
- babigail
September 14, 2007 at 8:46pm
sorry, had to pick up kids... ibook is the Apple laptop... have to run, taking one kid to pizza downtown, the other to party...life as a parent...
- MrCookie1
September 14, 2007 at 9:46pm
Your excressence, as usual, stinks. What are you saying? That, because Mr. Schultz's writings are an introduction to Abe Foxman's book, they are completely invalid? Are you so intellectually lazy? Never mind the fact that you haven't as yet responded to Babigail's query . . . . You are right, though, about the Israel lobby. At last month's bi-annual meeting (to which only the chosen, all 12 million of us, are invited), we plotted how we could better deceive the goyim into thinking that we DON'T form a world-wide conspiracy to dominate the banks, media, governments, etc. That we AREN'T trying to twist American policy for our own devious ends. But you, ND, you are just too clever to be fooled. I have no problem with those who criticize Israel's American supporters. I often agree. But when the criticism emanates from a foul mind like yours, one can only assume that the motive is plain old anti-semitism dressed up in a sleazy little profession of caring and fair-mindedness. Prove me wrong. Prove to me you aren't an anti-semite. Because everything you've posted so far shows you see Israel and its supporters as being monolithically evil. By the way, fuck you, asshole.
- MOLLYSIMON
September 14, 2007 at 9:46pm
Most of you are regulars. Just look at what she posted in the past. Do a simple Google search with terms like: ndmackenzie, Israel Spine, Zionist, criminal to the search. Then enjoy. It may be a bit hazardous to disagre with her. On such an occasion, she wrote to jacksondyer that he performed fellatio on Marty. Disagree with her at your own risk.
- sleepyavl
September 15, 2007 at 2:37am
SHE?!?
- babigail
September 15, 2007 at 6:33am
If u don't get back here with the links to the reviews that say that Abe Foxman failed, I's gonna track you down, and I's gonna yank your tongue right outa your revolting mouth, you hear? As for performing fellatio on Marty and other delightful ideas along this line, I am not taking any risk, sleepy. He is. Coz I may consider other crucial organs of his while I'm at it, the absence of which will deprive him of sexual pleasure for the rest of his life. His hands, of course.
- babigail
September 15, 2007 at 8:11am
Of course I know her posts. But it's just so fun to hate her. She can write anything she wants--it'll only inspire me more. Plus she's a coward; have you ever noticed she never answers on substance? To ND, I say: "Mommy, I want my Wishnik."
- MOLLYSIMON
September 15, 2007 at 11:21am
Molly, this is becoming too hazy for me. Please explain: SHE - is this ndmackenzie? Is he a she?
- babigail
September 15, 2007 at 12:14pm
Hey Babs, I have no idea, though I think Jacksondyer once referred to this creature as a she, but who cares? You can refer to it however you like. I mean, do you refer to a weasel by its sex? By the way,how's tricks in TA? I've got family in Ramat Aviv/Herzliya, and am thinking of taking my kids next summer. Will that make me a war criminal? After all, I'll be supporting the Zionist enterprise.
- MOLLYSIMON
September 15, 2007 at 1:40pm
yeah!(IT will take the lotion from the basket... IT will rub the lotion on its skin - silence of the lambs). Next summer is long ways from here, Molly. You can hardly plan for next week in this correction facility made by the gods, which for some inexplicable reason we're so bent on calling our own. Try again say, around may. Things in TA are just great. the city is twitching with life and fun. But i must warn you about summer: you gotta be pretty resilient to a rather crippling mixture of heat and humidity. I seem to become less and less tolerant to this phenomenon as time passes. And the zionist enterprise... just do it quietly, so the global authorities don't find you out, and you'll have a pretty good chance of dodging the dire consequences. :)
- babigail
September 15, 2007 at 4:02pm