Forget about infirmity of purpose. The most troubling criticism of America's Middle East policy is that it is driven not by national interest but by a domestic lobby-the Jewish lobby. This criticism is an article of faith in the Arab world. It has been whispered in European chancelleries for years. Now a respectable American pundit, Michael Lind, has tried to detail the case in a respectable British magazine, Prospect. Does the argument hold water? Without question, the Jewish lobby is enormously influential in the United States. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a legend among lobbyists, a phenomenon when it comes to lining up senators, orchestrating public opinion and arranging junkets to Israel for impressionable politicians.
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