One Arab World

Its driving the right nuts. It is defiantly worth a read. Though it is obviously one sided, it primarily sticks to facts, statistics, and quotes that are usually easy to verify. Enjoy and let me know what you think. And if you care to repudiate, bring links to credible sources to the table.

John Mearsheimer is the Wendell Harrison Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and the author of The Tragedy of Great Power Politics.

Stephen Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. His most recent book is Taming American Power: The Global Response to US Primacy.

The IsraelLobby

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.

Instead, the thrust of US policy in the region derives almost entirely from domestic politics, and especially the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby’. Other special-interest groups have managed to skew foreign policy, but no lobby has managed to divert it as far from what the national interest would suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that US interests and those of the other country – in this case, Israel – are essentially identical.

Click “Read More” below to see the whole thing or the edited version.

The Maamam Allah cemetery, which is at least 1,000 years old, has become a building site.

The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre is constructing a Museum of Tolerance on the (Muslim) cemetery. The centre says the museum will seek to promote "unity and respect among Jews and between people of all faiths".

Kevod Ha’met anyone?

Were that a Jewish grave would there even be any debate?

Designed by one of my favorite architects no less. Shame.

-Karim Elsahy

I never thought I would pray for Ariel Sharon but I do now. Not now. Not yet.