Gary Sick, a veteran foreign policy analyst currently associated with Columbia University, has written a sharp rebuttal on his blog, which begs a number of questions: Is Prof. Sick correct that international nuclear monitors maintain an ongoing presence in Iran? If so, do we know that this presence includes all of their nuclear facilities or are there some beyond their reach? Finally, is Prof. Sick’s contention contradicted by the news report that Iran’s foreign ministry has offered to extend a three-day visit of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors?
Robert Wright has written his highly skeptical response at The Atlantic website.
There are lots of obvious reasons why Israeli officials might want to exaggerate their willingness to use force against Iran, and this simple fact makes it unwise to take their testimony at face value… an article based on interviews of [the Israeli security establishment] just isn’t very informative.
The NY Times Magazine author himself, Ronen Bergman, discusses his piece with Laura Rozen at the Yahoo News blog site, who also raises the possibility that Israeli officials may have used Bergman to bluff their way toward desired ends.
This selection of articles has been compiled thanks to the eagle eyes of Lilly Rivlin, Helen Knight (of J Street), and Ralph Seliger.
Did you really need to cite Walt to support your case? Do you think those who support Israel take what he says about Israel seriously? I would be very surprised. Most of the people who agree with his work are anti-Zionists and Israel haters. What’s next? Jewish neocons manipulate gentile politicians into war? That is his line, you know.
This blog post is not making “a case”; rather it is offering a selection of reactions, including an interview with the author himself. Nobody who reads this blog with any regularity would think that his work with John Mearsheimer on the “Israel lobby” is viewed positively. Just enter “Mearsheimer” in the search window and you’ll find plenty of critical commentary. Still, this doesn’t mean that everything Walt writes is wrong or unworthy of notice.