Those whackos at CNN

[sharkman]

There will never be peace in the ME as long as the left mollycoddles the Palestinians. Gee, that was kind of easy hisself.

[JB Globe]

In fact, we've expected Israel to reign in their responses to terrorist attacks when I believe we would have responded strongly ourselves;

The US is usually one of the last nations to call on Israel for "restraint" when it initiates a campaign in Palestine or Lebanon. Next time one happens, watch which nations respond first, and what they say - the US is usually at the bottom of the pack and out of step in world opinion.

And for the record - the ongoing cycle of violence that Israel submits to does noting but contribute to future violence in the region. The only thing retaliation does is satisfy a fearful or vengeful Israeli public and therefor keeps the careers of Israeli politicians safe for the time being.

we've engaged in two wars as a result of the terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

That of course, has nothing to do with the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

As for Israel dictating U.S. policy-- I'd be interested in which policies you're referring to.

In general, in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict the US tends to favour Israeli demands and Israeli claims more so than Palestinian. This is a result of several factors, the most influencial being the Israeli Lobby in Washington. To give you something you're familiar with, you may want to watch Christiane Amanpour's "God's Jewish Warriors" which aired on CNN - it's available on Youtube. The piece on the Israeli lobby, and how it softens US criticism of things like the security fence which was built in violation of the "roadmap to peace" is good, and stands as the only such investigation of the lobby I've seen on American television. The reason being of course is that to merely question the nature of Israeli-American relations is to invite a chorus of criticism not limited to, but including claims of anti-semitism.

[JB Globe]

Egypt and Jordan also have lobbyists with lots to do in Washington, including whining about the Israelis.

That's a half truth, the whole truth is that the influence of those Egyptian and Jordinian lobbyists is a joke when compared to the Israeli lobby.

[JB Globe]

There will never be peace in the ME as long as the left mollycoddles the Palestinians. Gee, that was kind of easy hisself.

Actually, there's never going to be peace so long as people who support "one side" continue to believe they're angels and "the other" are devils.