Being a bad friend

I've always said that I want the type of friends who would tell me when I have food in my teeth or a booger hanging out of my nose. A good friend is one who is willing to tell you the truth about what you do.

The USA has not been a good "friend" to Israel in a long time. These past two weeks, however, mark a completely unacceptable turn in the ridiculous alliance of these two nations. If you are to believe Ted Koppel's editorial in yesterday's New York Times, then Israel is a puppet state fighting Iran for us through their puppet of Hezbollah. If Israel is doing this of its own accord, it is a crazy attack that has cost so many civilian lives while merely strengthening the support of Hezbollah in Lebanon. A good friend would tell Israel that attacking Lebanon is probably a long-term bad idea, but instead the USA is speeding up its shipments of weapons.

But maybe the USA does enjoy the idea of spreading theocracy throughout the Middle East.

For a good batch of editorials on the current Israel-Lebanon conflict, you should take a look at today's New York Times which has a diverse array of views.

Also, if you're interested in learning more about the Mearsheimer/Walt article that spoke of the dangers of the Israel Lobby to the USA's own foreign policy, I would like to recommend a set of links that give food for thought on the relationship between the USA and Israel.

The London Review of Books contains an abbreviated version of the Mearsheimer/Walt article, and it includes a link to the full paper if you wish to read it.

The New York Review of Books' Michael Massing published a review not just of the article but of the controversy surrounding it, and he is critical of most of the article.

The most compellingly non-reactionary critique of the article is probably from Noam Chomsky.

Mearsheimer and Walt also published their own summary of the controversy and response to their critics.

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The photograph above comes from The New York Times' Tyler Hicks, and it shows leaflets dropped by Israel in Southern Lebanon in an attempt to warn civilians to leave.