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Kerry Indicates He Would Continue Bush's Pro-Sharon Policy
(Ira Glunts, dissidentvoice.org, March 22, 2004)
Lately, Senator John Kerry has been reassuring voters that he will be as pro-Israel as President Bush. He has expressed his support for Sharon's policy of unilateral disengagement, building of the so-called security barrier and the political isolation of Yasser Arafat. . . . Senator John Kerry has been defining himself as a Presidential candidate who would, if elected, continue the Bush foreign policy in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If you listen to what he is currently saying, you get a feeling that he wants voters (especially Jewish voters) to believe that a Kerry presidency would be even more supportive of the Sharon government, and actually less even-handed in its dealings with the Palestinians than the current administration. . . . Kerry "tried to exempt Israel from the [Democrat's] critique of Bush’s foreign policy." According to Kampeas, Foxman characterized Kerry as "agree[ing] with administration policy on isolating Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, [and] supporting Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and on the security fence." . . . Unfortunately, Kerry seems to have now decided that it is not in his political interest to be expressing views which are not in accord with those of President Bush, the neo-conservatives in his administration or establishment Jewish American leaders. New York House Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Kerry supporter, has recently put out the word that Kerry was distancing himself from any remarks he made at the Council on Foreign Relations. John Kerry the Presidential candidate, who is actively seeking the Jewish vote, will not be supporting any negotiations starting from where the Taba negotiations left off. . . . The decision not to mention Taba is extremely disappointing to people who had hoped the Democratic candidate would propose a new direction for American foreign policy toward promoting peace in Israel/Palestine, one which challenges the Sharon government and Bush neo-conservative visions. . . . Last year Kerry told an Arab-American audience that the so-called security barrier that Israel was building was "an obstacle to peace." Now he claims he has no problem with the barrier, since its route has been altered. It seems Mr. Kerry's position has been altered to a much greater extent than the route of the barrier. The wall is still situated totally in occupied territory causing great hardship and in clear violation of international law. Also, it is still to be decided if the barrier will be built as recommended by the Israeli Army, to encircle most of the Palestinian population, thus creating virtual prisons for the Palestinian people. . . . Mr. Kerry published an article in a Brown University publication titled, "A Powerful Journey, An Essential Dream," where he wrote, "[i]n this difficult time we must again reaffirm we are enlisted for the duration - and reaffirm our belief that the cause of Israel must be the cause of America - and the cause of people of conscience everywhere. If these are the words of an honest broker, I would rather have the Bush team working for peace in the region. At least they occasionally pay lip service to the Palestinian position. Kerry ends his article with a slogan associated with the religious pro-settler bloc, "am yisrael chai" or long live the people of Israel. . . . Despite any indications to the contrary, I fear that those who thought Kerry may have contributed to the peace process in Israel/Palestine will be disappointed to learn of Senator's current public stance. Barring a sudden change of heart and a burst of courage, we must sadly assume that a President Kerry will be at least as pro-Sharon as President Bush. . . .

[COMMENT: Which brings us right to the point about the upcoming elections in November. There is very little difference between the positions of Kerry and Bush. They are cut from the same cloth, and that spells doom for America. Again we are faced with a choice between deciding which candidate is the lesser evil. .... However, voting for the "lesser evil" is still a vote for evil in my book.]

posted by LoZo 10:55 AM