← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · albion
Thread ID: 20906 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2005-11-05
2005-11-05 22:21 | User Profile
[INDENT]Lynn Woolsey is the veteran congresswoman from Marin Co., the wealthy bedroom community immediately north of San Francisco. A liberal Democrat, she has been one of the first members of Congress to oppose the Iraq war. She, like other Democrats, has generally voted the way that AIPAC recommended, as do most Democrats, but twice last year she made two votes that went against AIPAC's wishes. For most of her races in the Democratic primary, she has had no competition, but apparently, as a consequence of those votes, she now has such an adversary, Joe Nation, who is being heavily backed by the Zionist lobbyists.
Understanding the lay of the political landscape, Woolsey took herself off a month or so ago on an AIPAC sponsored trip to Israel and now she seems to have learned her lesson. To a constituent who wrote in support of the Palestinians, she sent the following form letter:
: "As you know, Israel is an ancient land filled with wonders. Unfortunately, this ancient and beautiful land has seen more than its share of violence and upheaval, particularly in recent years. The Israelis cannot be fully secure until the Palestinians abandon all acts of terrorism and the Palestinians cannot be fully free until they have a functioning state of their own. The reason that I decided to visit Israel at this time was to see, firsthand, the prospects for peace in the region because it has become clear to me that there is no viable military solution to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.
There is great hope for peace between the israelis and the Palestinians. The death of Yasir Arafat and the emergence of more moderate Palestinian leaders, combined with Israel's full military withdrawal of Gaza, have led to new possibilities for peace in the Middle East. Yet these strides will be of little value if the leadership on both sides fails to negotiate a permanent final status agreement addressing the following long-standing issues: state borders; the status of Jerusalem; Palestinian refugees right of return; and economic, political, and security ties between Israel and a future Palestine. The US, in addition to the UN and EU, must play the role of the impartial mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. President Bush needs to send high-ranking officials from the State Department to address this conflict on the ground, and his administration needs to provide the resources and the support for the creation of a secure and viable Palestinian state. In the long run, America's nonpartisan involvement will lead to the best possible solution of this conflict for Israelis, Palestinians and Americans. You can be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind as I continue to work for a just solution in the Middle East that guarantees Israel's security and provides self-determination for the Palestinians." [/INDENT]That constituent later checked the AIPAC web site [U][url]www.aipac.org[/url][/U] and found out that Woolsey is a co-sponsor of a letter to the PA demanding an end to terrorism. No demands are made of Israel. And there are still people who will dismiss the notion as "anti-semitic" that Congress is Israeli Occupied Territory.
To quote the refrain, "When will we ever learn?"
2005-11-06 05:57 | User Profile
Hmm, I wonder what the quid pro quo was in terms of contributions to her campaign. [quote=albion] That constituent later checked the AIPAC web site [U][URL="http://www.aipac.org"]www.aipac.org[/URL][/U] and found out that Woolsey is a co-sponsor of a letter to the PA demanding an end to terrorism. No demands are made of Israel. And there are still people who will dismiss the notion as "anti-semitic" that Congress is Israeli Occupied Territory.
To quote the refrain, "When will we ever learn?"