Israel within its rights
.I love when elected official break the thousands of years of regional strife in the Middle East down to a simple analogy. Here is our Congressman:Israel is simply protecting itself from a very dangerous neighbor. It's a neighbor who has been emboldened to grow more bellicose by the support of a radical regime in Iran and by the criticism that has been leveled by some European governments. All countries have the right to defend themselves and the safety of their citizens. I'm pretty sure that if a radical group took over Canada and started lobbing missiles into Buffalo, the U.S. government's response would be swift and decisive.
I am not trying to channel Noam Chomsky or Howard Zinn here but this is really a matter of human decency. Actually that is more Howard Zinn than Noam Chomsky. If we are to ever see peace in the Middle East, it will need to be through a process of humanization of the Palestinian people and an implementation of a two state solution. If we had been treating Canadians like half humans for 40 years and denying even basic life necessities such as water and the right to travel, they would probably treat us like the Palestinians treat Israel. We treat Canadians like humans and they return the favor. The same is not true in Israel.
Jim, they lob rockets for a reason. Hamas is a bad group of people but because Israel and the US have suppressed the Palestinians for 60 years, they turned to the only people that could give them power. Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah are bad. There is no doubt about that. To pay them back and to gain the respect of the people, you do not shell the civilian centers. That is criminal and so is US support of it.
*******Update******
By contrast, here is Sestack's comments:
Congressman Sestak Statement on Situation in Gaza
January 2, 2009
"Israel has the right to ensure its security as it has done in response to the unremitting rocket attacks from Gaza by Hamas. The United States must continue to support the defense of its valued ally Israel; however, we must also work much more effectively than we have in the recent past to achieve a long term diplomatic resolution to the overall Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This requires the U.S. to take a much greater leadership role in the Middle East, beginning with bringing a swift end to this ongoing conflict. Then, leading a regional effort, the United States must use this conflict’s peaceful resolution as an opportunity to build a path to permanent peace in the Middle East."
"When I served in the White House as Director of Defense Policy in the Clinton Administration, I saw the value of U.S. leadership efforts to engage in diplomacy around the world, including with Israel and the Palestinians. We need to assume the mantle of leadership in that region because a safe and secure Israel is necessary not only for the people of Israel, but also for the region, the United States and its allies and friends."