A few years back, when Clinton was still in power and Jesse Helms was the unofficial "king" of the US Senate, the two clashed numerous times on foreign policy and in particular the United Nations. At one point, Helms was actually invited by the US delegation at the UN to detail his gripes about Turtle Bay to the Security Council and why he was blocking America's annual dues to the organization -- and while I disagree with Helms on just about everything (except for his stance on trade with China, he turned out to be absolutely right there) I actually got a sense of Schadenfreude watching Helms using his freedom of speech telling off not only the UN itself but also the ambassadors of countries which put human rights at the bottom of their respective agendas.
The whole point of the exercise was, America tolerates legitimate dissent towards the government -- as well as that of other countries. It will even stand aside if people who oppose the official line try to broker peaceful settlements themselves. Jimmy Carter is a good example of someone who's rubbed his nose into every President who succeeded him -- usually with good cause.
This week, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doing a tour of the Middle East just talking with leaders there and trying to get a sense of whether there may be some momentum to finally solve the impasse over Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and the Golan. Today, she had a meeting with Syria's President. What does the Bush White House do? It goes on record saying that Pelosi is trying to undermine its peacemaking efforts.
Uh, yeah. A White House that is captive to the most extreme elements within the evangelical commmunity who refuse to recognize that there is a Palestinian "issue" and who claim repeatedly that "There is only Israel." A White House that has engendered more rocket attacks against Israel launched from the Occupied Territories as well as Lebanon precisely because of the Iraq War and because rogue elements within Mesopotamia are financing the terrorist attacks. A White House that refuses to recognize Syria's right to exist when in fact that country may hold the key to resolving the "Palestinian Question" as well as to an end of the war in Iraq.
Who has undermined the peacemaking process? By any reasonable measure, it's been Bush, not Pelosi.
I do not underestimate the enormity of the challenges involved, especially what to do with refugees displaced in 1948 and the years since. But we've heard more of the same from successive Republican and Democratic regimes. Isn't it time there were alternate voices? Especially from the third most powerful person in the country? Maybe they have a better idea.
And even if they don't, there's nothing wrong with talking. It's what freedom of speech is all about. What America is supposed to be about.
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