Call it the Petraeus effect. Here is further evidence that someone changed the water in the Washington aquarium:
Neocon Bret Stephens of the WSJ has been arguing that Muslims hate us for Lady Gaga, not for Israeli settlements. I have heard this man speak a couple of times; he is a shallow Israel lobbyist who would have little platform were it not for the powerful constituency he represents. This is impoverished analysis. (Maybe they do hate us for Lady Gaga; but Lady Gaga doesn’t violate our principles, occupation does.) Interestingly, Stephens is getting pushback. Here, from Abu Muqawama, the cognomen for Andrew Exum, a squarejawed high-trajectory type who served under McChrystal and now works at the Center for a New American Security. Smart:
It’s not that Palestine is the only issue Islamists care about, but it is an issue they care about, and in a big way. And that has potential consequences for policy-makers as they try to reduce drivers of conflict and lower levels of anti-Americanism in the region. Pretending otherwise, or walling all issues concerning Israel and the Palestinians off from your analysis, is just silly.
