I have always believed that, at some point, the Israeli prime minister and his lobby would lose their grip on U.S. Middle East policy. At least I’ve believed that since 1982 when Tom Dine, AIPAC’s most successful executive director, explained how it would happen.
It was during my four year stint at AIPAC that I asked Dine if a president of the United States could take a position opposed by the lobby, in a case where U.S. national security interests were clearly at stake, and prevail.
Dine responded that although he hoped that day wouldn’t come, he did not think a president could make Israel do anything it didn’t want to do given the power of AIPAC and “our friends in Congress.” In other words, as long as politicians need AIPAC-directed campaign funds, it wouldn’t happen .... http://www.intifada-palestine.com
