The Israeli lobby

I have quibbled with the thesis of Mershheimer and Walt in their study of the influence of the Israeli lobby, but you sometimes encounter things in the papers that only confirm their thesis.  Look at this:  "Mrs. Clinton confronted one such ripple effect when she said on the ABC News program “This Week” that the United States did not intend to cut military aid to Egypt, despite the White House announcement Friday that the nearly $1.5 billion in annual assistance was under review.  The prospect of a cutoff of aid alarmed the Israeli government, an Israeli official said, because it is linked to the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel and could alienate the Egyptian military, which Israel views as a stabilizing force in an otherwise deteriorating situation.  Israel has conveyed its concerns to the United States about the risk of a sudden collapse of the Egyptian government, this official said. It worries about who would replace Mr. Mubarak, viewing the ascendant opposition leader, Mohamed ElBaradei, with some wariness."