Dear Mr. Klein:

We were deeply troubled by your outrageous assertion on Time Magazine's "Swampland" blog that Jewish neoconservatives "plumped" for the war in Iraq and are now doing the same for "an even more foolish assault on Iran" with the goal of making the world "safe for Israel." ("Surge Protection," June 24).

Whether or not one feels that America's war on Iraq was justified, the charge that it is being fought by the United States on behalf of Israel is both offensive and categorically false.

There can be no question that in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, legitimate and serious American security and foreign policy interests played a critical role in President Bush's decision to attack Iraq.  Moreover, many top decision-makers in the administration who advocated for war hardly fit the mold of a "Jewish Neocon" – Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell being the most prominent among them.

The notion that Jews with "divided loyalties" were behind the decision to go to war is reminiscent of age-old anti-Semitic canards about a Jewish conspiracy to control and manipulate government, which has unfortunately gained new currency of late with public figures such as Jimmy Carter and professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt suggesting that American Jews are disloyal and that pro-Israel groups have undue influence over American foreign policy.

We are disappointed that a respected and thoughtful writer of your caliber would resort to such stereotyping.