Bush 'Deeply Troubled' by Israeli Strike

AP ^ | 06/10/03 | SCOTT LINDLAW

[Pokey78]

WASHINGTON - President Bush scolded Israel on Tuesday for a helicopter attack on a senior Hamas leader that killed a bystander and a bodyguard, warning that such a strike "does not contribute to the security of Israel."

The strike came less than a week after Bush launched the "road map" toward Middle East peace he helped craft at a summit with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

"The president is deeply troubled by the strike of helicopter gunships that reportedly killed at least two persons and wounded 20 others," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "The president is concerned that this strike will undermine efforts by Palestinian authorities to bring an end to terrorist attacks, and it does not contribute to the security of Israel."

Abbas denounced the helicopter strike as a "criminal and terrorist" Israeli attack, and asked the United States to intervene.

Bush said after the summit in Aqaba, Jordan, last week that he would seek to keep the parties on the path to peace if he saw them straying. The prepared statement issued from Fleischer's lectern seemed to be in keeping with that.

"What's important in this new environment is for Palestinians and Israelis to find ways to work together on the path to peace," Fleischer said. "This is going to require both the Palestinian Authority and Israel to find new ways to protect the road map so it can advance to face terrorism."

"In looking at the progress that must be made for the road map and looking at this attack, the president is deeply troubled by it," Fleischer said.

The White House has often tempered such warnings to Israel by emphasizing that "Israel has a right to defend itself," and Fleischer repeated that language Tuesday.

But, he added: "Israel has to act on that right in a manner that is consistent with larger objectives, and in this case the president views this as deeply troubling."

In the attack Tuesday, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car carrying Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the most high-profile political leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas to be targeted by Israel in 32 months of fighting. Rantisi said he jumped out of his car when he heard the choppers overhead. He was injured and underwent surgery.

After the attack, Hamas threatened revenge "that will be like an earthquake."

"We will continue with our holy war and resistance until every last criminal Zionist is evicted from this land," Rantisi told the Arab TV satellite station Al-Jazeera from his hospital bed.

Abbas accused Israel of trying to destroy the "road map" plan to get out of its commitments.

At the same time, Israeli troops dismantled 10 tiny, uninhabited settlement outposts in the West Bank overnight, in line with the first requirements of the peace plan.

But the road map also says Israel must refrain from actions that undermine trust. It does not specifically rule out the targeted killings of Palestinian militants.

Israel said after its acceptance of the plan last month that it would from now on reserve the practice of targeted killings to "ticking bomb" scenarios, as a last means of preventing attacks on Israelis.

[Mr. K]

Bush cannot come out and say "good job, do it again" but he should think of somethgn better to say than this.

Isreal is justified in their attack because hamas rejected the call for peace and end to violence. If you neighbor down the street is plotting to kill you, and building bombs and acquiring weapons and actually sending people to your house to do it, what do you do? sit there?

[MoJo2001]

I"m "deeply troubled" that President Bush is "deeply troubled" over this. I say crack open a Pepsi, sitback, and watch the Irsael teach the world on how to truly take care of terrorists. Don't be nag. Just sitback and watch Yasser squirm like the worm that he is.

[MoJo2001]

Oops! Irsael..it's actually Israel. Sorry! I hate misspelling words that mean a lot to mean.

[boris]

I'm deeply troubled that they missed the main target.

[MoJo2001]

to me..yikes!! COFFEE! I need coffee! Sorry Pokey! I'm messing up your thread with my spelling errors. Please forgive me!

[DoughtyOne]

If I were Israel I wouldn't limit my attacks to the West Bank and Gaza. I'd be hitting Lebanon and Syria, taking Hamas and other a--hole organization leaders wherever they exist. And you know what, if any foreign leader objected I'd tell them to f-off.

It's amazing what our leadership in the US will approve in their quest to destroy terrorists hell bent on doing damage to our nation, yet watch as they condemn Israel for doing the same things. Frankly it turns my stomach!

[Reeses]

If Darwin were alive he might be studying the Middle East situation to observe the causes of war and the lack of resolution or evolutionary progress when war is artificially restrained. This conflict will never end until nature takes its course. The 6 Day War shouldn't have stopped at the 6 day mark.

[cpdiii]

That leader in Hamas needed to die. However, Israel should have let Mossad do the job. They would have simply eliminated him with cold precision and there would have been
no political fall out from it. Trying to take him out in the way they did plays into the hands of those on both sides that have no interest in peace.

[tomahawk]

I can't believe that President Bush said this. I'm very disappointed.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

If you neighbor down the street is plotting to kill you, and building bombs and acquiring weapons and actually sending people to your house to do it, what do you do? sit there?

Oh, I couldn't agree more. But Israel really screwed the pooch on this one, though. IMHO, Israel should have been able to take out the Hamas leader without so much collateral damage (bystanders). Now, most are very bad, but one of the casualties is an 8 year old girl now with brain damage. That won't play well in the international press. And any excuse to jump on the bandwagon of "Israeli aggrssion" will be taken, and a situation like this just doesn't help. The Palis will cry about the 8 year old girl, change the topic again -- ignore the obvious like "why was the attack necessary in the first place?" -- and present an image - again - they there they are just minding their own innocent business, when wham! attacked again by those mean, bad Israelis. And much of the press will eat it up.

[hchutch]

There is one reason why we cannot fully support Israel: Half of our imports come from OPEC, which is, for all intents and purposes, run by the Saudis. Guess what happens if our support of Israel gets too strong: Oil embargo, followed by economic downturn.

We need to remove the leverage that OPEC has over us. David Frum's book, incidentally, points us in the direction we need to take that could remove the leverage.

[Frank_Discussion]

Given our stance on the War on Terror, I too find it puzzling that the US polocy on Israel is what it is. There has to be something going on that we don't know about, otherwise Israel would have the greenlight from us for doing what ever they needed to do.

We lack pieces of the puzzle that the real players have - Nothing else makes sense. As spectators to the carnage, it is hard for us all to watch.

All things being equal, I would be satisfied to see Israel march the Palestinians (a non-real people) out of the region on boxes. Or in them.

[chachacha]

Why for gods sake! They have a right to protect themselves just like we do. Your pick of Friends Suck

FOX, PUTIN, Now this THUG ABBAS.

WAKE UP!

[section9]

These helicopter attacks have to stop.

They kill too many innocent bystanders and force the "moderates" to play the anti-Jewish card. In addition, they force people like Bush to say things that they normally wouldn't say.

Use the Mossad. Quiet, but effective.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[pgyanke]

President Bush, what are you doing? Abbas is a puppet for Arafat--the man who had to be replaced before "the road map" could move forward. Despite his overtures of peace, Hamas has said they will not abide by any agreements and will only be satisfied with Israel's total destruction. Is "the road map" so important (like Clinton's legacy) that Israel can no longer defend herself against her sworn enemies? If Abbas is truly against terrorism, then he should not be upset by this attack. I don't expect him to praise it, but he shouldn't denounce it either. Hamas told him to pound sand on peace.

That Abbas calls this a criminal attack should be a wake up call to our middle east diplomats who appear to be asleep at the wheel.

[bvw]

Right-o, Chris. Happy to volunteer other people's sons and daughters to put their life at risk. Bad helicopters, bad, bad.

[veronica]

Hmmmm. Here is another article on this topic.

Bush “Deeply Disturbed” Over Failed Attack On Hamas Leader

Maybe he's deeply disturbed that the mission was a failure...;)

[cpdiii]

If your neighbor down the street is plotting to kill you, and building bombs and acquiring weapons and actually sending people to your house to do it, what do you do? sit there?

180 grains of lead at 2700 feet per second, using a Simmons scope on a Remington Model 710 30-06. Soft Point slug and aim for the center of mass. You kill the "one" that needs killing.