There should be a book or article written on this: the extent to which the Washington Institute for Near East Policy dominate the discourse and contributes to foreign policy making on the Middle East in the US. Think about it: the people who are cited in the US press on Syria are either from the WINEP or from the Saban Center (which was founded by the founder of WINEP who used to be with AIPAC). There are usually two or three names a day in the NYT from WINEP. A DAY. And now they have a now trick: they bring in a token Arab to make their shop seem non-Zionist, while the token Arab with the Saban center or WINEP never EVER utters a word against Israel--of course. It is not in the job description. And folks in WINEP also serve in senior positions of government. When I came to US in 1983, there were quarters that opposed or countered the influence of Zionists: the Arabists and the foreign policy elite of the Republican Party. The Arabists were eliminated and the Republican Party foreign policy elite was taken over by neo-cons and Christian Right.