Powell: Israel's use of US arms not illegal

WASHINGTON (September 9) - Secretary of State Colin Powell, in a letter sent last month to Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), said Israel's use of American-made weapons in targeted killings of Palestinian militants does not constitute a violation of American law.

While State Department spokesmen have been saying so for weeks, it was the first time a senior administration official made such an unequivocal statement on the issue.

Powell, in a letter dated August 17, was responding to a letter sent by Conyers to President George W. Bush in June in which Conyers expressed concern that Israel's use of American-made weaponry in targeted killings was a violation of provisions of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).

Responding on behalf of Bush, Powell wrote: "Under the AECA, we are required before supplying defense articles to obtain the recipient's agreement that those defense articles will be used only for specified purposes, including internal security and legitimate self-defense. Under section 3c, a report must be submitted to Congress if a substantial violation of such an agreement may have occurred."

Powell then added: "Based on our assessment of the totality of the underlying facts and circumstances, we believe that a report under section 3c of the AECA is not required." He did say, however, that the US "has been monitoring Israeli actions carefully and will continue to do so."

US officials have told The Jerusalem Post that they have expressed concerns privately to their Israeli counterparts about the possibility that an attack using American-made weaponry could go severely awry and cause massive civilian casualties to the Palestinian side. Such an error could force the US to take some type of counter-measures against Israel, the officials have said.

But Powell's statement was the clearest so far from the Bush administration that the US does not believe Israel is in violation of American law in its use of American weaponry. American-Arab organizations have urged the US to halt weapons sales to Israel because of the killings.

Finally, a definitive statement from the head of the State Dept. Boucher, the State Dept.'s anti-Israel spokesman, for weeks has been threatening that he will have to turn Israel's 'violations' over to congress to impose sanctions for their illegal use of US made weapons while defending itself. He has been huffin'and puffin', but I guess he forgot to check in with his boss. Colin seems to think otherwise. I've been asking for months: Just who runs the State Department????

Just a little reminder .. The Freepathon is on .. Thanks to all those Freepers who supported .. and for the others .. here is your chance to show support

FreeRepublic NEEDS Your Help!

Donate Here by Secure Server </font size=4>

Or Mail your check to:
FreeRepublic , LLC
PO BOX 9771
FRESNO, CA 93794

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.