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Comment by Udik | Hacker News Reader

> but the US has a far less adversarial relationship with Israel than with China

Couldn't this be a consequence, rather than the cause, of the willingness to remove or mute anything that can put Israel in a less than positive light?

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It's both.

I used to be angry about Israel, but no longer see the point of it. Being critical of Israel is political suicide in the US. That's just how it is. See The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (2007). But be careful about discussing it.

> Being critical of Israel is political suicide in the US. That's just how it is.

I know. But it is how it is because of a pervasive propaganda on one side, and the fear of speaking up on the other. It can be changed.

It's not just the propaganda. Or rather, it's the six decades of propaganda. I used to keep a copy of that book in my living room. And it almost precipitated a riot among dinner guests. Indeed, fear of career suicide was a primary reason for going ~anonymous on the Internet.

I can't imagine what it would take to change it.

So war with Iran is inevitable? Even if majority of Americans don't support it?

It's not inevitable. In the Iraq war a few senators and reps voted against it. Now we should have tremendous better sense of evidence can be faked, the impact in America and other countries. Most? A lot? Of Dems would vote against war, a few Republicans. This is just John Bolton, Trump not paying attention. It's terrifying. What if he lets some provication kick it off. Really the same thing could happen with China or Russia. I never thought I'd feel so sad about the state of my country. But you know, 1938 looked a lot worse. Germany, Japan, great depression.

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