Even-handedness in the Middle East?
From a column discussing the furor over Howard Dean's recent remarks calling for more balance in U.S. policy towards the Middle East:
Ironically, Dean has been widely seen as a hawk on Israel and Palestine. (See my article Howard Dean: Hawk in Dove’s Clothing? CommonDreams, Feb. 26.) He has stated that his position is closer to the right-wing American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which allies itself with Israel’s ruling Likud Bloc, than it is with Americans for Peace Now, which identifies with the Israeli peace movement and the more liberal Israeli parties. Much to the chagrin of peace and human rights advocates, Dean supported the recent $9 billion loan guarantee to Sharon’s rightist government without conditions. He has repeatedly stated his belief that the major issue in the conflict is Palestinian terrorism, not the Israeli occupation that has spawned it.
Such positions have led many Democrats concerned about peace and human rights in the Middle East to abandon Dean and back the campaign of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who supports the position of the Israeli peace movement and the Zionist left.
However, Dean is apparently not right wing enough for Kerry, Lieberman and the House Democratic leadership.
It is unclear what political advantage could be gained from this attack on Dean, the current front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. According to a nationwide public opinion poll this past May from the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, a clear majority of Americans not only recognized that the Bush Administration is biased towards Israel, but, when asked about what position the United States should have, a full 73% stated that the United States should not take either side in the conflict.
In other words, Senators Kerry and Lieberman and the House Democratic leadership have gone on record supporting the policies of the Bush Administration against the overwhelming majority of the American people.
And then they wonder why so many former Democrats have joined the Green Party
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