Levy: The mystery of America: "Rice has been [to Israel several] times in the course of a year and a half, and what has come of it? Has anyone asked her about this? Does she ask herself?

"It is hard to understand how the secretary of state allows herself to be so humiliated. It is even harder to understand how the superpower she represents allows itself to act in such a hollow and useless way. The mystery of America remains unsolved: How is it that the United States is doing nothing to advance a solution to the most dangerous and lengthiest conflict in our world? How is it that the world's only superpower, which has the power to quickly facilitate a solution, does not lift a finger to promote it?"

One could say about Rice/Bush/Cheney that they are corrupt, ignorant, incompetent etc. But US policy is disgraceful, inhumane and dangerous. Why do they do it? There are two usual explanations: the Israel lobby, and regional hegemony. Neither (or both) seem wholly satisfactory. It is folly.

Levy: The mystery of America: "Rice has been [to Israel several] times in the course of a year and a half, and what has come of it? Has anyone asked her about this? Does she ask herself?

"It is hard to understand how the secretary of state allows herself to be so humiliated. It is even harder to understand how the superpower she represents allows itself to act in such a hollow and useless way. The mystery of America remains unsolved: How is it that the United States is doing nothing to advance a solution to the most dangerous and lengthiest conflict in our world? How is it that the world's only superpower, which has the power to quickly facilitate a solution, does not lift a finger to promote it?"

One could say about Rice/Bush/Cheney that they are corrupt, ignorant, incompetent etc. But US policy is disgraceful, inhumane and dangerous. Why do they do it? There are two usual explanations: the Israel lobby, and regional hegemony. Neither (or both) seem wholly satisfactory. It is folly.