22.3.07

I won't however, hold my breath if you don't mind.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=517849

Walt, the Belfer professor of international affairs, and co-author John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago set off a storm of controversy last March when they published a paper arguing that the pro-Israel lobby, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has distorted foreign policy through its influence on academia, the media, and think tanks. Their essay also argued that the lobby was a “critical element” in the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The forthcoming book will be published by New York-based Farrar, Straus and Giroux and is due out in September, according to Walt, who declined to answer other questions about the book. Mearsheimer did not respond to phone calls to his office in Chicago.

Since the publication of their essay last March, the claims made by Walt and Mearsheimer have divided the academic community.

New York University professor Tony Judt, who wrote a New York Times op-ed supporting the pair shortly after their article appeared, said in an interview yesterday that the professors’ work has forced a discussion of the Israeli lobby’s influence, a previously taboo topic.

“The article and subsequent furor have opened up the debate as never before [and] the book will presumably do more of the same,” Judt said.

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