<html><head><base href="x-msg://703/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">So, is the Lobby important or not in the formulation of U.S. policy in the ME? --mkb<div><br><div><div>On Apr 23, 2010, at 11:48 AM, David Green wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font-family: 'times new roman', 'new york', times, serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/barack-obama-is-speaking-the-language-of-israel-firster-dennis-ross.html">http://mondoweiss.net/2010/04/barack-obama-is-speaking-the-language-of-israel-firster-dennis-ross.html</a></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">William Quandt is a reliable source and astute observor in this piece; Dennis Ross plays the role of Aaron David Miller:</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">The notion that the United States can’t want peace more than the Israelis and Palestinians want it is, as Quandt points out, a relic of the Clinton and second Bush administration’s approach to Israel/Palestine, and not Baker’s view. It’s also a view that Dennis Ross<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=26422&lan=en&sid=0&sp=0"><font color="#2361a1">has pushed hard</font></a>, with tragic consequences for the Palestinians. The question we should be asking is why Ross has such a prominent role in Obama’s strategy for dealing with the Middle East, a role that is very detrimental. Ross, as Laura Rozen at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Politico</em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0310/Fierce_debate_on_Israel_underway_inside_Obama_administration.html"><font color="#2361a1">reported</font></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in late March, is still very much involved in crafting the administration’s approach to Israel, and is reportedly “more sensitive to Netanyahu’s coalition politics than to U.S. interests.”</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">DG</div></div><br><br>--<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>This message has been scanned for viruses and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>dangerous content by<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.mailscanner.info/"><b>MailScanner</b></a>, and is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>believed to be clean.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>_______________________________________________<br>Peace-discuss mailing list<br><a href="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</a><br><a href="http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss">http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss</a><br></div></span></blockquote></div><br></div><br />--
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