The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy

Author:John J. Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt [Mearsheimer, John J. & Walt, Stephen M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, pol_guide, Political Science, Diplomacy
ISBN: 9780374531508
Google: 6zTlnQEACAAJ
Amazon: 0374531501
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2008-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

to resume talks with Israel is the response of official Israel . . . PrimeMinister Ariel Sharon has remained silent. Not a word has been heard fromhim .. . In the past we always hoped for such proposals."3 2

In a mid-December 2006 interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica,President Assad called on Olmert to negotiate with him: "Talk to

Syria, and like many Israelis are saying, 'even if you think it's a bluff you havenothing to lose.'"3 3 At the same time, the Syrian foreign minister told theWashington Post that Syria would be willing to begin talks with Israel withoutany preconditions, which appeared to be a significant change in Syria'sbargaining position.3 4 Olmert rejected the opportunity to start talks andblamed it on President Bush, who, according to the prime minister, had forbiddenhim to negotiate with Syria.3 5 The implication of the prime minister'scomments—which have been repeated by many other Israelis—is that hewould talk with Assad were it not for his loyalty to Bush.

This argument is unconvincing. Not only did the U.S. ambassador to Israeldeny that Washington was preventing Israel from talking with Syria, butIsrael is not in the habit of taking orders from any U.S. leader when its vitalinterests are at stake.3 6 Most important, there is hardly any evidence thatOlmert is genuinely interested in meaningful peace talks with Syria. A seniorIsraeli government official told Aluf Benn of Haaretz that Israel, inBenn's words, "never requested American permission to talk with Syria, as ithas not yet decided whether it wishes to do so."3 7 The prime minister's refusalto negotiate is unsurprising, because an agreement "comes with a pricetag," to quote Defense Minister Peretz, which is giving up the GolanHeights, and Olmert is opposed to making that concession. Olmert grasped"the pretext" provided by Bush, the Haaretz reporter Gideon Samet writes,"because he will not admit the real reason: He does not want to come downfrom the Golan Heights."3 8

Further evidence of Syria's interest in making peace with Israel and Israel'sunwillingness to seize the opportunity was revealed in January 2007,when the Israeli press reported that Israelis and Syrians had met secretly inEurope between September 2004 and July 2006 for the purpose of comingup with a proposal for an agreement between the two states. The meetingswere unofficial and did not involve policy makers in either government.However, both governments were kept informed of the talks and, accordingto Haaretz, "The European mediator and the Syrian representative in thediscussions held eight separate meetings with senior Syrian officials, includingVice President Farouk Shara, Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, and aSyrian intelligence officer with the rank of general.'"39 The two sidesreached an agreement calling for Israel to return to the June 4, 1967, borderbetween the two countries. In return, Syria would stop supporting Hamasand Hezbollah, and even "distance itself from Iran." The talks ended whenthe Syrians proposed that they be moved from an "academic level" to an "officiallevel," and the Olmert government refused.

TAKING AIM AT SYRIA

Then, in April 2007, Speaker of the House Pelosi visited President Assadin Damascus and told him that Olmert,

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