Monday, July 31, 2006
Israel is doing the right thing by defending herself against terrorism. She has the inherent right and responsibility to protect her borders and to defend against attacks by terrorists that threaten the security of Israeli citizens. I am proud that America honors our special relationship with Israel by supporting our ally in this time of escalating Mideast violence. We as a nation must continue our full support of our friend and key strategic ally. The kidnapped soldiers must be returned, Hezbollah must be neutralized, and only then can there be a cease-fire.
Just this week I was asked about the current crisis in the Middle East at a coffee in the district. I made the following statement: "Israel is defending itself. And if you know anything about Hezbollah, you know that they make Al Qaeda look like some sort of junior day camp. They're not as big as Al Qaeda, but they're much better armed. And we've been seeing that. They've just been lobbing missiles with no aiming abilities into civilian populations. If you don't think that if someone were lobbing missiles into this neighborhood, that we wouldn't do everything within our power to stop it, you'd be crazy. We would be fighting back as hard as we could."
I stand behind my words. I believe the Bush Administration should be doing a better job of pushing for an international, enforceable agreement addressing the underlying causes of this conflict: Iran and Syria. Any solution that does not address how to effectively control these two backers of terrorism will inevitably fall short of a lasting peace.
I also believe that the US Government must take full advantage of every opportunity to show support for Israel. We cannot afford to send mixed messages to our most important ally during this crisis. Unfortunately, President Bush and the Republican Leadership in Congress are doing just that by refusing to condemn anti-Israeli and even anti-Semitic comments made by senior members of the Iraqi Government.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently voiced vehement opposition to Israel's operations in Lebanon - a position counter to U.S. policy in the Middle East. Far worse, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani blamed Jews for killings perpetrated by Sunni or Shiite insurgents in Iraq. A pair of letters circulated through Congress in response to these statements, one asking the President to condemn al-Mashhadani's statements and the other calling for al-Maliki's speech to Congress to be canceled because of al-Maliki's remarks. Neither one was successful, but both were right.
Given my opponent Mark Kirk's stated support for Israel, I would have expected him to be leading the drive to garner support for both letters. Mr. Kirk betrayed his vaunted friendship with Israel under pressure from the Bush Administration, and both letters were sent without Kirk's signatureŃ just another example showing that he is wrong when it counts.
Back to Press Releases
Download PDF
