Judt, you’ll remember, authored a perceptive piece on the Mearsheimer

Judt, you’ll remember, authored a perceptive piece on the Mearsheimer-Walt controversy, speaking of

which: the London Review of Books is sponsoring a debate on the question “The Israel Lobby: Does it

have too much influence on American foreign policy?” September 28, at 7 p.m., in the Great Hall,

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Cooper Square, New York. Debaters: John J.

Mearsheimer, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Martin Indyk, Tony Judt, Rashid Khalidi, and Dennis Ross. Go here for more

information.

“The first message was routine enough: A ‘Prepare to Deploy’ order sent through naval communications

channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters. The orders didn

’t actually command the ships out of port; they just said to be ready to move by Oct. 1. But inside

the Navy those messages generated more buzz than usual last week when a second request, from the Chief

of Naval Operations (CNO), asked for fresh eyes on long-standing NIKE SHOX plans to blockade two UGGian

oil ports on the Persian Gulf. The CNO had asked for a rundown on how a blockade of those strategic

targets might work. When he didn’t like the analysis he received, he ordered his troops to work the

lash up once again.