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Kerry, Lieberman Assail Dean Call for Balance in Mideast Conflict, Sharpton Joins Anti-Saudi Chorus
Arab American Institute
9/13/03
Governor Howard
Dean told supporters in New Mexico
last week that "it's not our [the United States'] place to take
sides" in the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. Dean also commented
that an "enormous number" of Israeli settlements in Palestinian
territories would have to be removed to achieve peace. Two of his rivals
for the Democratic nomination, Senator John
Kerry of Massachusetts and Senator
Joe Lieberman
of Connecticut, responded harshly to Dean's criticism. "It is either
because he lacks the foreign policy experience or simply because he is
wrong that governor Dean has proposed a radical shift in United States
policy towards the Middle East. If the president were to make a remark
such as this it would throw an already volatile region into even more
turmoil," said Kerry. Lieberman stated, "If this is a
well-thought-out position, it's a mistake, and a major break from a half a
century of American foreign policy. If it's not, it's very important for
Howard Dean, as a candidate for president, to think before he talks."
In a subsequent interview, Dean responded, "Israel has always been a longtime ally with a special relationship with the United States, but if we are going to bargain by being in the middle of the negotiations then we are going to have to take an evenhanded role." The conflict over this issue continued into this week's Democratic presidential debate, sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus and held in Baltimore, Maryland, where again Lieberman attacked Dean's position. The Baltimore Sun reports that Lieberman "accused his rival of doing exactly what the Democrats say Bush has done: breaking commitments to longtime allies," and that the U.S. "would not gain credibility 'if we compromise our support for Israel' and accused Dean of abandoning a 50-year record of bipartisan support for Israel. He added that Dean's call for Israel to leave the West Bank and eliminate a significant number of settlements in the occupied territories should be left to the parties to decide. Dean shot back that his position on the question is the same as former President Bill Clinton's. 'It doesn't help, Joe, to demagogue this issue,' the former Vermont governor said. 'We need to beat George Bush so we can have peace in the Middle East.'"
But the conflict didn't stop there. The New York Times reported yesterday that "criticism of Howard Dean for his assertion that the United States should not take sides in the Middle East conflict moved beyond presidential debating today when a group of Democratic House members rebuked him in a letter." The letter, written by Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) and was signed by over twenty others including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, states that "American foreign policy has been - and must continue to be - based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror."
Please go to <http://www.aaiusa.org>
to let the candidates know what you think of their comments.
Sharpton Joins Anti-Saudi Chorus
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken
quite a beating from the Democratic presidential candidates in this
campaign. Some candidates, like Governor Howard Dean (D-VT) and Senator
John Kerry (D-MA), have called on the United States to wean itself from
dependence on Middle Eastern oil from because, they claim, it is funding
anti-Americanism and terrorism in the region and around the world. Now
civil rights leader Reverend Al
Sharpton, also a Democratic
candidate for the presidency, has joined his voice to the anti-Saudi
chorus: Sharpton told Fox News on September 4th that "there must be
an unequivocal investigation of Saudi Arabia's ties to the Bush
Administration. We cannot fight terrorism and then be selective on those
that are involved in financing terrorism. The Saudis are the Achilles heel
of the Bush Administration."
New Zogby Poll Shows Continued
Decline in Support for Bush
"President George
W. Bush's job performance ratings
have reached the lowest point since his pre-Inauguration days, continuing
a steady decline since a post-9/11 peak," states a new Zogby
International poll of 1,013 likely voters conducted September 3rd through
5th. "Less than half (45%) of the respondents said they rated his job
performance good or excellent, while a majority (54%) said it was fair or
poor." Significantly, these results "mark the first time a
majority of likely voters have given the president an unfavorable job
performance rating since he took office." These numbers are down from
an August Zogby International poll, which showed President Bush's
"rating was 52% positive, 48% negative." Also, "a majority
(52%) said it's time for someone new in the White House, while just two in
five (40%) said the president deserves to be re-elected. Last month, 45%
said re-election was in order, and 48% said it was time for someone new. A
like number (52%) said the country is heading in the wrong direction,
while 40% said it is the right direction. Overall opinion of President
Bush has also slipped to 54% favorable - 45% unfavorable, compared to
August polling which indicated 58% favorable, 40% unfavorable. Just two in
five (40%) said they would choose Bush if the election were held today,
while 47% said they would elect a Democratic candidate. In August polling,
respondents were split (43% each) over President Bush or any Democratic
challenger."
Heard Around Town...
Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld on Iraq and dissent at
home and abroad: "We know for a fact . . . that terrorists studied
Somalia and they studied instances where the United States as dealt a blow
and tucked in and persuaded themselves they could, in fact, cause us to
acquiesce in whatever it is they wanted us to do. The United States is not
going to do that. President Bush is not going to do that. Now, to the
extent terrorists are given reason to believe he might, or if he is not
willing to, the opponents might prevail in some way . . . and they take
heart in that, and that leads to more recruiting . . . that leads to more
encouragement, or that leads to more staying power. Obviously that does
make it more difficult."
The Independent (UK) reports that "with the casualty rate in Iraq growing by the day and President George Bush's worldwide 'war on terrorism' showing no signs of abating, a stretched United States military is turning increasingly to Latinos - including tens of thousands of non-citizen immigrants - to do the fighting and dying on its behalf. Senior Pentagon officials have identified Latinos as by far the most promising ethnic group for recruitment, because their numbers are growing rapidly in the US and they include a plentiful supply of low-income men of military age with few other job or educational prospects. Recruitment efforts have also extended to non-citizens, who have been told by the Bush administration that they can apply for citizenship the day they join up, rather than waiting the standard five years after receiving their green card. More than 37,000 non-citizens, almost all Latino, are currently enlisted. Recruiters have even crossed the border into Mexico - to the fury of the Mexican authorities - to look for school-leavers who may have US residency papers."
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| Earth, a planet hungry for peace |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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| The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank (Ran Cohen, pmc, 5/24/03). |
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