Posted on 02/24/2004 7:25:24 PM PST by demnomo
US Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, described Israel's construction of a security barrier as a "legitimate act of self defense" after Sunday's suicide bombing in Jerusalem, clarifying a position he took in October when he told an Arab American audience, "We don't need another barrier to peace."
"It is ironic that this act of terror takes place on the eve of consideration by the International Court of Justice of Israel's security fence. The court does not have and should not accept jurisdiction over this case," Kerry said in a statement released by his campaign Monday.
"Israel's security fence is a legitimate act of self defense," he added. "No nation can stand by while its children are blown up at pizza parlors and on buses. While President [George W.] Bush is rightly discussing with Israel the exact route of the fence to minimize the hardship it causes innocent Palestinians, Israel has a right and a duty to defend its citizens. The fence only exists in response to the wave of terror attacks against Israel."
It has been rare for Democratic candidates to issue statements on incidents like bombings in Israel over the past few months. Kerry's statement, highlighting the justification for the fence, came a week before the crucial March 2 "Super Tuesday" primaries, which include New York with its high concentration of Democratic Jewish voters, some political observers noted.
In his October speech to a conference held by the Arab American Institute in Michigan, Kerry stressed the fence's negative aspects.
"I know how disheartened Palestinians are by the Israeli government's decision to build the barrier off of the Green Line – cutting deep into Palestinian areas," Kerry said. "We don't need another barrier to peace. Provocative and counterproductive measures only harm Israelis' security over the long term, increase the hardships to the Palestinian people, and make the process of negotiating an eventual settlement that much harder."
Sources inside the Kerry campaign said Kerry's position on the fence was misconstrued after the October speech. While he has objected to the route of the fence – as has Bush – Kerry has never opposed Israel's right to build the barrier for security reasons, they said.
When Kerry said, "We don't need another barrier to peace," he meant a barrier that deviates from the Green Line and makes peace talks harder, the sources added. James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said he sees no contradiction between Kerry's two statements.
"What he said in October displayed an understanding of Palestinian suffering and a specificity about that suffering that one doesn't find typical in political statements," he said. "It also laid blame for that suffering on the fact of occupation, which is both common sense and is also unusual."
"This statement [after the bombing] in no way contradicts that, but is obviously intended to provide solace to the Israelis," Zogby added. "And while I have some differences of opinion, I think both statements, the one he made to our conference and this one, are nuanced enough that one doesn't find contradiction between them."
Steve Rabinowitz, a Democratic strategist in Washington, said he sees no contradiction. "Kerry's position is no different from Bush's," he said. "The word 'barrier' was not even in the lexicon back in October when we only talked about fences and walls. He was obviously talking about obstacles to peace, not physical fences. I don't see anything contradictory at all between then and now."
The call him Flipper, Flipper, Flipper
Flips faster than lightning
No one you seeeeeee
Flips faster than Kerryeeee.....
He's just a fibber, fibber, fibber
Flips faster than lightning
No one you seeeeeeeeee
Fibs bigger than Kerryeeeeee
He's just a flipper, flipper, flipper
Fence sitting and frightning
Moaning you seeee
for the the presidencyeeeeee...
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