It was widely reported that the American Israeli Political Action Committee (AIPAC) was behind the sudden decision by Congressional House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to drop a provision requiring President Bush… for Congressional approval prior to attacking Iran.
As reported in the May 16, 2007 issue of The Hill:
“The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an influential group that advocates strong U.S. ties with Israel, lobbied heavily to remove the Iran provision in the supplemental, arguing that the measure would weaken President Bush’s attempts to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”
If there ever was an irrefutable demonstration of Walt and Mearsheimer’s thesis, this must surely be it.
In other words, a Democratic Congress elected to end the Iraq war has willingly given up its right (and responsibility) to engage in public debate prior to a new act of war against Iran, a sovereign nation. By voting to look the other way, Congress has left this war decision to the discretion of an unpopular president, who has already failed once.
Why on earth would the Democrats, empowered to change the administration’s current foreign policy regime, ignore popular will? One reason, of course, is AIPAC.
If a conflict with Iran does eventuate, it’s predictable that Israel’s amen corner will attack any suggestion of Israel’s involvement as anti-Semitism.… … Along with the the impending espionage trial of former AIPAC members, this time around the evidence will be much more difficult to dismiss.