Kerry/Edwards Follow the
Failed Bush/Cheney Policy on the Middle East
BY SAMAR ASSAD
Counterpunch
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Statements
by presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry and his running mate Sen. John
Edwards on issues concerning the Palestinian-Israeli conflict indicate
that if elected this coming November 2nd, they would follow the same
policies as the Bush-Cheney administration concerning the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Four years
of unbalanced Bush-Cheney policies have failed to secure an end to the
violence or a resumption of negotiations between Palestinians and
Israelis. The reversal by Bush of decades-long U.S. policy regarding
borders, Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees and the principle of
bilateral Palestinian-Israeli negotiations has damaged U.S. credibility in
the Middle East and the international community.
Kerry and
Edwards' pledge to rebuild U.S. credibility abroad cannot apply only to
Iraq. The greatest test for U.S. credibility in the Middle East is in
Palestine. The Bush administration has dealt a blow to U.S credibility due
to its actions in Iraq and its inaction in the Occupied Territories which
a Kerry administration must resolve if it is to better.
In an effort
to gain support among pro-Israel Americans, both campaigns have been
competing to outbid each other on their support for Israel. On 6 October
2004, the Bush administration vetoed a draft resolution regarding Israel's
military attack on Gaza which has lead to the death of over 80
Palestinians. During the vice-presidential debate on 5 October 2004,
Edwards failed to recognize Palestinian deaths and suffering, referring
only to the loss of life on the Israeli side.
To bolster
support among Jewish Americans, Kerry proudly opposed the International
Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling which argued that the separation wall Israel
is building in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal, and added
that Israel's "fence" only exists in response to the "wave of terror"
attacks against Israel. His opposition differs little from Bush's
endorsement of Israel's plan to annex six major West Bank settlement blocs
into Israel.
Neither
candidate recognizes that the wall's route does not separate Israelis from
potential Palestinian attackers; it separates Palestinians from
Palestinians, Palestinians from their homes, their schools, their jobs and
medical facilities. Once completed, the wall will establish a new and
un-negotiated border between Israel and the West Bank. Both Bush and Kerry
say they support the creation of a Palestinian state but fail to discuss
what territorial shape the state would take if Israel maintains its
current plan to keep the settlements and complete the wall around the
entire West Bank, separating it not only from Jordan on the East and
Jerusalem on the West, but also the northern areas from the southern.
Bush has
stated consistently that he would never pressure Israel to take any action
it feels would compromise its security; John Kerry concurs.
Israel
believes that ending its 37-year military occupation of Palestine
compromises its security, and it feels that "disengaging" from part of the
Occupied Territories while maintaining overall control of that area will
strengthen its security-a plan that Bush endorses; John Kerry concurs.
The
Palestinian-Israeli conflict seems to be the one thing that both the Bush
and Kerry camps agree on. Both sides seem to have outsourced U.S. foreign
policy towards Palestine and Israel to Israel.
Israel's
security is best served when the sovereignty and national interests of
Palestinians and Israelis are equally addressed. Israel's security and
that of the entire region is bolstered when a credible America abroad
institutes its principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
Bulatlat
Past Alternative Readers
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