Leahy speaks out in the Senate on the crisis in Lebanon

Sen. Leahy with King Abdullah of Jordan

from listener

Here's a clip from Senator Patrick Leahy's statement yesterday (August 1) on the Senate floor:

We are committed to protecting Israel's security and we support Israel's right of self defense, including going after Hezbollah fighters who often launch their attacks from civilian areas.

But for Israel's sake, for ours and especially - especially - for the sake of innocent lives on both sides of these battle lines, it is vitally important to ask whether destroying Lebanon - not Hezbollah, but destroying Lebanon - will make Israel more secure or instead rally Muslims behind Hezbollah and give rise to further hatred and insecurity. I believe that continued bombing of civilian areas in Lebanon will not destroy Hezbollah, but in a perverse way, it may strengthen it.

The fact that these attacks are being carried out with such intensity and are yielding so much death and destruction, with weapons supplied by the United States, and at a time when we are trying to repair our already frayed relations with Muslims around the world, is all the more reason for the United States and the people of Israel to consider and answer this question frankly and honestly. I am concerned, as others have also warned, that a short-term tactical victory - even if possible - could prove to be a hollow victory at great human cost.

We should also reflect on the circumstances that preceded this crisis. For the past five years, the Bush Administration's approach to the Middle East has been either to ignore it or to parachute in for just enough time for a few handshakes and photographs. There has never been an effective strategy. They have never been willing to expend any political capital. Their policy toward Syria and Iran has been erratic and ineffective. Their relations with the Palestinians have stagnated.

It was clear since the earliest days of this Administration that this laxity would define their approach to these tinderbox issues, and the terrible harm of that approach - to our ally Israel, to the Palestinians, and to the prospects for resuming a meaningful peace process in that region - is all the more clear today.

I am not among those who believe that the United States pulls all the strings in the Middle East. There are forces there over which we have only limited influence.

But neither do I believe there can be a lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict without the active, creative and sustained engagement of the United States, including direct talks with those with whom we strongly disagree, like Syria and Iran. That has been sorely lacking under this Administration, and we are witnessing the price of that neglect in Lebanon and Israel today.

His statement deserves a full read.

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