*** From [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Tomasz Iwanowski) Congress, ignoring Bush, strongly expresses support of Israel
By Alison Mitchell NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE May 3, 2002 WASHINGTON - The House and Senate voted overwhelmingly yesterday in rapid succession to express strongly worded support for Israel in its recent military operations, largely brushing aside last-minute attempts by the Bush administration to soften language criticizing the Palestinians. The two congressional resolutions were nonbinding, but they put the legislative branch of government on record as backing the military actions of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, even as President Bush has called on Israel to end its "occupation" of Palestinian towns. The Senate voted 94-2 in favor of its resolution, which also calls on the Palestinian Authority to act against terrorism, as Bush has also done. The House quickly followed, voting 352-21 in support of a tougher-worded measure stating concern that the actions of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "are not those of a viable partner for peace." Twenty-nine House members voted "present" as a protest that the resolution was too tilted toward Israel. Reps. Randy Cunningham, R-Escondido; Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon; Darrell Issa, R-Vista; Bob Filner, D-San Diego; and Susan Davis, D-San Diego, voted with the majority. Even after appeals to delay such resolutions, members of Congress in both chambers and both parties rushed to assert their solidarity with Israel, which has strong support from two influential political constituencies, Jewish Democrats and Christian conservatives. Their actions served to complicate the delicate diplomacy Bush is trying to conduct to end the violence and restart negotiations. In emotional debate, House members and Senate members from the left and right repeatedly branded Arafat a "terrorist" and a "despot." A minority of lawmakers expressed reservations about the policies of Sharon. The Israeli prime minister arrives in Washington next week for talks with Bush. Administration officials have tried in recent weeks to urge him to withdraw his forces from the West Bank and to moderate military actions against Palestinians. The congressional votes in effect endorsed Israel's recent military campaign, aspects of which have drawn strong criticism from human-rights groups. The resolutions may make it more difficult for Bush to counsel Sharon to exercise restraint. King Adbullah II of Jordan is also scheduled to visit Washington next week for talks with Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The White House has been trying to enlist moderate Arab support for its diplomatic efforts, which include talks with Arafat. A minority of lawmakers called the measures dangerously tilted toward Israel. "This resolution blindly supports Israel's action against the Palestinians and wholly denies the generations of suffering of the Palestinian people," said Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., a state with a significant Arab immigrant population. Sens. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., and Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., were the only senators who voted against the resolution. Hollings, in debate, suggested many of his colleagues were after campaign contributions. But the overwhelming vote was for support of Israel. It included a number of House Republican leaders and conservatives who showed little patience for calls for a middle ground in the Middle East, pointing to growing tensions between Bush and his conservative base. On the eve of the vote, House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas endorsed a position flatly at odds with the long-standing precepts of the Oslo peace effort. "I'm content to have Israel grab the entire West Bank, he said in an appearance on "Hardball With Chris Matthews" on MSNBC. He added under questioning, "I happen to believe that the Palestinians should leave." Yesterday, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay added his support. "Let every terrorist know: The American people will never abandon freedom, democracy or Israel," DeLay said. "America will never permit the state of Israel to fall to aggression." Democrats were equally impassioned. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is considered a possible challenger to Bush in 2004, read aloud Bush's uncompromising words in the days after Sept. 11 that nations would have to choose between standing with the United States or with terrorists. "The intention of this statement is really to embody and express those last words that I quoted from President Bush," said Lieberman, the sponsor of the Senate measure along with Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore. While the House and Senate resolutions yesterday differed in tone, both said the United States and Israel are in a "common struggle against terrorism" and both expressed solidarity with Israel "as it takes necessary steps to provide security to its people by dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas." The White House tried and failed to have that clause removed, said congressional aides. FASCISM IMBUED, a comment: With a plain disrespect paid to the wordl's opinion and historical facts (even written in the Holy Bible), a bunch of Cogressmen did express their solidarity with Israel giving a green light for its further murderous acts. They did so with an euphoric state of mind believing in the military might of the U.S. A might on which fascists and communists relied upon trying to impose their will onto others - for in power lies a strenght of argumentation. And they did not take into account that the might has been created by the people of the US. But they did not ask the people for their opinion. They do not even want to know, that Palestinians are not agressors. Their land was taken away twice with force by Israeli hordes. First time 3250 years ago by Moses, and 57 years ago by murderers Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon. The Congressmen also did not care about Oslo Accords of 1993. With their most recent resolution they sponsored Moses' tyranny and his conquest of Palestine with the help of such suicide terrorists like Samson of the Book of Judges 16:30. The Oslo Accords The Oslo accords are the foundation on which peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are based. Officially called the "Declaration of Principles," the accords were negotiated secretly by Israeli and Palestinian delegations in 1993 in Oslo, Norway, guided by Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Jorgen Holst. It was signed in a historic Washington ceremony hosted by President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1993, during which PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin grasped hands in an uneasy, yet unforgettable handshake. The declaration is the first phase in the ongoing peace process; it lays out the goals to be achieved. Those goals are the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the Palestinians' right to self- rule in those territories. As of October 1996, Israeli troops had withdrawn from all territory except for the West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinians had elected a parliament and Arafat as their first president, and established their own police force. Accompanying the agreement were the "Letters of Mutual Recognition." In signing those letters, Israel officially recognized for the first time the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. And for the first time, the PLO recognized Israel's right to exist, renounced terrorism, rescinded its call for Israel's destruction and accepted the principle of land for peace. So, it can be said, that Hennecke Kardel with his book Adolf Hitler Founder of Israel available at (www.amazon.com> or at 1-800-5192465 was and still is right. 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