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God Bless Those who Protect our Liberty
Past, Present and Future.
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Posted on 10/06/2003 5:02:22 PM PDT by paulklenk
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 — President Bush said again today that he recognized Israel's right to defend itself, and he pointedly declined to criticize it for the retaliatory strikes into Syria after a deadly suicide bombing.
Mr. Bush said he told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel on Sunday, "like I have consistently done, that Israel's got a right to defend herself; that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defending the homeland."
"However," the president said, "I said that it's very important that any action that Israel take should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions."
Mr. Bush has said repeatedly that he knows Israel has a right to defend itself, and he has urged it repeatedly to not over-react and set off new spates of bloodletting in the Middle East. But his remarks today may have been significant, both for what he said and for what he did not say.
Mr. Bush, speaking to reporters at the White House in an appearance with President Miwi Kibaki of Kenya, did not answer directly when he was asked if he thought Israel had gone too far with its surprise airstrike deep into Syria. (This afternoon, the State Department spokesman, Richard A. Boucher, described the strike target just outside Damascus as one that "has long been used by a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups as a training facility.")
And Mr. Bush's use of the word "homeland" recalled the many times he has used it when he has talked of protecting the United States from terrorism.
Finally, Mr. Bush said today that a speech he gave on June 24, 2002, "should explain to the world and to the American people the policy of this government."
"We have not changed," he said.
In that Rose Garden speech, President Bush told the Palestinian people that they had to replace Yasir Arafat as their leader before the United States would support an independent Palestinian state. He also called for an end to Palestinian terrorism, and for free elections and economic reforms to end corruption.
At the time, the speech was well-received by Israel, since it was tougher on the Palestinians than any of his previous statements. That speech, like today's far less-detailed remarks, came after Israel had retaliated to a series of attacks by Palestinian suicide bombers.
Today, while saying that "all parties must assume responsibility" for ending bloodshed in the region, Mr. Bush aimed his remarks at Palestinians. He declined to answer directly when he was asked if he could "work with a Palestinian prime minister who says he would not use force under any circumstances against Palestinian militants."
That was a reference to the stance taken by the new Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, who said he wanted to negotiate a truce with Israel but without using force. Mr. Bush said today that the Palestinian Authority "must defeat the terrorists who are trying to stop the establishment of a Palestinian state, a peaceful state, in order for there to be peace."
At the State Department, Mr. Boucher said he had not seen Mr. Qureia's statement. "But if there's not action to end the terrorism, we can't expect much progress," Mr. Boucher said. "We've made that abundantly clear again and again."
Since Mr. Bush's Middle East policy speech of June 24, 2002, Mr. Arafat has been pushed somewhat to the sidelines, although not rendered completely irrelevant, as Mr. Bush would like. And Mr. Bush has said he still embraced the "road map" for a Mideast peace in which Israel and a Palestinian state would co-exist in stability and prosperity.
Mr. Bush has said repeatedly that terrorism in the Middle East cannot be allowed to stymie efforts to achieve peace. But this weekend's suicide bombing, in which a score of people died, was one of the more serious incidents in recent months. Israel responded with an airstrike deep inside Syria, the first Israeli raid on that country in 30 years, since the 1973 Yom Kipur war, whose anniversary is today.
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God Bless Those who Protect our Liberty
Past, Present and Future.
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What's next? America "insists" on defending its "homeland"?
No, the quotes are in the title to indicate that Bush used exactly that word. Please try to keep up....
Then you've noticed they've started the Bush bashing within the food and restaurant reviews now too. Sorry I can't remember the 2-3 examples over the past few months, but surely there will be more coming soon.
Not at all, to whit:
And Mr. Bush's use of the word "homeland" recalled the many times he has used it when he has talked of protecting the United States from terrorism.
Watching him deliver these words showed that he stood beside Israel as a special ally of the American people. It was especially meaningful today (yesterday).
...putting quotes around the word 'homeland' is the equivalent of saying 'so-called equivalent'...
I really meant to say 'so-called homeland'. I think my answer to your question is yes.
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