According to the JTA (my favorite wire service), the National Jewish Democratic Council has said that Walt and Mearsheimer’s ideas are "irresponsible" and "downright dangerous." The Council, which is affiliated with the Democratic Party, made the accusations in response to comments by Virginia Congressman Jim Moran, who argued (in Tikkun, according to the JTA) that AIPAC pushed for the Iraq war, and that AIPAC has a lot of influence because many of its members are "quite wealthy." In attacking Moran, the NJDC threw in Walt and Mearsheimer, saying they had the same ideas.
Wow. The fur’s beginning to fly.
This is blackmail. The NJDC is saying we can’t discuss these ideas because they are dangerous–i.e., there will be pogroms in the U.S. if people start talking about an Israel lobby. And an effective blackmail so far: 5 years on and we can’t talk about the causes of the Iraq disaster. (By the way, Walt & Mearsheimer don’t say much about Jewish wealth, and say that AIPAC took a pretty low profile in the runup to Iraq; while other segments of the lobby were actively promoting the war…)
And yes. It’s true that ideas can be dangerous. Iraq. Iraq. Iraq.
