Apparently there are people out there even more hysterical than Abe Foxman over Gen. David Petraeus’ thoroughly uncontroversial observation that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sets the “strategic context” for the Middle East. (By the way, a close reading — actually, just a barely-awake reading — reveals that Petraeus was mainly making a point about problems the conflict poses for moderate Arab-state allies, but whatever.) Steve Walt preempts them by revealing a fairly banal story about how he had a small role in Petraeus’ doctoral dissertation. You can just see the conspiracy theory concocting itself.

I’m starting to get excited for Petraeus’ May speech to AEI.