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Mearsheimer and Walt are wrong in retrospect about Iraq so their basic thesis is undercut by the Coalition success in that country. Nonetheless, they provide a rationale for the continuing attacks on America, which this country should consider, the increasing unimportance of Israel as a strategic ally since the collapse of the Soviet Union. They advocate "offshore balancing" which sounds like it may have worked until the necessity of increased presence, particularly ground troops, in the Middle East.