Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, January/February 2002, page 20

Congress Watch

 

Terrorist Attacks Harden Pro-Israeli Mood in Congress

By Shirl McArthur

Even before the terrorist bombings in Israel the first weekend of December, most members of Congress had abandoned whatever previous restraint they might have shown and succumbed to the relentless media and other propaganda picturing all acts of Israeli terrorism as “retaliation” against Palestinian terrorism. After that weekend, the mood in Congress hardened even further, with most members reverting back to unquestioning support for Israel. Even those members generally sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians, such as Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), were appalled at the attacks. In a press release Moran called the attacks “an affront to all civilized people,” and joined the chorus of those demanding that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat move against “those organizations—like Hamas—that kill innocent people with impunity.”

On Dec. 4, House International Relations Committee chairman Henry Hyde (R-IL), joined by ranking committee minority member Tom Lantos (D-CA) plus 53 of the usual sycophants, introduced a resolution, H.CON.RES. 280, “expressing solidarity with Israel in the fight against terrorism.” On Dec. 5, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), joined by 29 other senators, introduced an identical resolution, S.CON.RES. 88. The resolutions strongly condemn the terrorist attacks, express outrage at the “Palestinian terrorist campaign,”demand that the PA take immediate action to destroy the terrorist infrastructure and arrest those people who have been fingered by Israel, and urge the president to cut off all relations with Arafat and the PA if they fail to take the described actions.

Both resolutions passed on Dec. 5, by voice vote in the Senate and by a roll call vote in the House of 384 for, 11 against, and 21 voting “present.” While the resolutions are not binding on the president, they are valid indications of how thoroughly the bombings further alienated most members of Congress against the Palestinians.

The 11 who voted against the resolution in the House were Reps. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), John Dingell (D-MI), Earl Hilliard (D-AL), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL), Cynthia McKinney (D-GA), Patsy Mink (D-HI), Ron Paul (R-TX), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Bobby Rush (D-IL), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS).

Before the bombings, it was reported that the joint conference committee for the foreign aid bill had retained the provisions from the House bill that seek to impose sanctions on the PLO and the Palestinian Authority unless they comply with all of a series of commitments they reportedly made in previous years. These provisions were originally introduced in May by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) as H.R. 1795. In the conference committee, Reps. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) reportedly led the effort to retain the provisions. As of this writing, the conference report has not been approved by either the House or the Senate, but there seems little doubt that this will happen, possibly before this issue reaches our readers.

Meanwhile, the Ackerman bill and its counterpart in the Senate, S. 1409, introduced by McConnell and Feinstein in September, continue to gain co-sponsors. New co-sponsors of H.R. 1795 since the previous issue of the Washington Report are Reps. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) and David Phelps (D-IL). New co-sponsors of S. 1409 are Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR).

 

AIPAC Scores Senate Coup

The other significant negative development was the coup achieved by AIPAC in “persuading” 88 or 89 (reports vary) of the 100 senators to sign a letter to President George W. Bush urging him to “remain steadfast in standing with our ally, Israel, and…express that solidarity with Israel publicly,…[and] continue your policy of not meeting with Chairman Arafat until he has taken the necessary steps to end the violence and terrorism against Israel.” With AIPAC backing, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) initiated the letter, which was first reported by The New York Times on Nov. 17. According to the Times and Bond’s Web site, the letter was signed by 89 senators. However, the list of signers posted on Bond’s Web site includes only 88 names (Bond is listed twice). The 12 not listed as signers were Sens. Joe Biden (D-DE), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), James Jeffords (R-VT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Frank Murkowski (R-AK), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Pat Roberts (R-KS).

Meanwhile in the House, Reps. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Lantos wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell in October urging the U.S. to include Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad as part of its war on terrorism and to not include “sponsors of terrorism” Syria and Iran in Washington’s anti-terror coalition.

 

State Department Appropriations Bill Drops Jerusalem Provisions

Both houses of Congress approved the conference report reconciling the House and Senate versions of the Commerce, Justice, and State Department appropriations bill (H.R. 2500) in mid-November, and Bush signed it on Nov. 28. As happened last year and in 1999, the conference committee dropped without comment the three provisions in the Senate version recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Unfortunately, the conference committee also dropped without comment the provision inserted in the Senate version by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Sept. 12 condemning any acts of violence against any Americans, including Arab- and Muslim-Americans.

The Senate still has not acted on the Foreign Affairs Authorization bill, which also includes the Ackerman provisions, inserted in committee by McConnell and Feinstein. (As reported in the July issue of the Washington Report, the version passed by the House in May also includes the three provisions recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In addition, it includes the spiteful provision inserted by Lantos that seeks to cut off all aid to Lebanon, including educational and humanitarian aid.) In the rush to adjourn for the holidays, it is likely that the Senate will not act on the bill until next year.

 

Other Negative Bills Gain Co-Sponsors

In another indication that Congress is reverting to its old pattern of blind subservience to Israel’s wishes, several previously-described anti-Palestinian bills have gained new co-sponsors. In October there were reports that AIPAC was making a determined effort to gain co-sponsors for H.R. 2566, introduced by Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) in July, which seeks to cut off all direct or indirect aid to the PA unless the president certifies “that no excavation of the Temple Mount in Israel is being conducted, other than that authorized by the Israeli Antiquities Authority.” The bill has gained 12 co-sponsors since Sept. 11: Reps. Joe Baca (D-CA), Cardin, Phil English (R-PA), Stephen Horn (R-CA), Connie Morella (R-MD), Major Owens (D-NY), Todd Platts (R-PA), Thomas Reynolds (R-NY), Steve Rothman (D-NJ), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), Chris Shays (R-CT) and Thomas Tancredo (R-CO).

Even H.CON.RES. 30, introduced by Tancredo back in February, which would express the sense of Congress that the U.S. Embassy in Israel should be moved to Jerusalem, has gained two new co-sponsors, Reps. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) and Mike Pence (R-IN). In addition, H.R. 2098 and S. 1377, introduced last summer by Rep. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and Sen. Gordon Smith, have each gained co-sponsors. These bills would establish in the Department of Justice an office to, among other things, monitor acts of “international terrorism” allegedly committed by Palestinians. This effectively would take responsibility for trying to capture Palestinians, and only Palestinians, who harm U.S. nationals overseas out of the hands of the State Department and transfer it to the Justice Department. New co-sponsors in the House are Reps. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Mark Souder (R-IN). New Senate co-sponsors are Sens. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Rick Santorum (R-PA).

 

Two More Negative Resolutions

Confirming that Congress remains blind to the repeated instances of Israeli terrorism, two new resolutions have been introduced in the House condemning Palestinian terrorism against Israel. The first, H.CON.RES. 222, introduced by Saxton on Sept. 10, ironically expresses “the sense of Congress regarding the inherent right of self-defense.” It first describes terrorist attacks against Israel and then reaffirms the inherent right of self-defense “of all nations, including Israel”; states that “preemptive measures used to prevent terrorist attacks on civilian populations are a recognized and legitimate use of state power”; and “supports Israel in its legitimate exercise of internationally recognized rights of self-defense.” The resolution has 12 co-sponsors, in addition to Saxton: Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Howard Berman (D-CA), Michael Doyle (D-PA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), English, Michael McNulty (D-NY), Pence, Platts, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Edward Schrock (R-VA), and Chris Smith.

The second resolution, H.CON.RES. 278, introduced by Rep Dave Weldon (R-FL) on Nov. 19 with Pence as co-sponsor, recounts that the U.S. is engaged in a war against terrorism and claims that “Israel has fallen victim to numerous similar unspeakable acts of violence committed by terrorists against the people of Israel.” It concludes by expressing solidarity with the people of Israel; recognizing that “any resolution to the Palestinian homeland question can only be resolved so long as Israel’s right to exist in security is fully respected”; and expressing concern that the Palestinian Authority has failed to curb incitement of violence and to “respond quickly and forcefully to prevent acts of terrorism and to bring to justice those individuals who have committed acts of terrorism.”

 

Ten Congressmen Urge Bush To Support INC Operations Inside Iraq

On Dec. 5 seven senators and three representatives sent a letter to President George W. Bush urging him to begin “immediately to assist the Iraqi opposition on the ground inside Iraq by providing them money and assistance already authorized and appropriated.” The nine-paragraph letter repeated the charges that Iraqi President Saddam Hussain has “reinvigorated his weapons programs” and is getting billions of dollars annually from Iraq’s illegal oil trade. It then seeks to draw on the U.S. experience in Afghanistan to compare the Iraq National Congress (INC) with the anti-Taliban Afghan forces and to conclude that the best way to “directly confront Saddam, sooner rather than later,” is to work with the INC.

Claiming (in two places) that the INC is “the only umbrella organization comprising all elements of the Iraqi opposition,” the letter passes off the widespread criticisms of the INC by complaining that, instead of providing military support and training for operations on the ground in Iraq, as intended by Congress, “successive administrations have funded conferences, offices and other intellectual exercises that have done little more than expose the INC to accusations of being ‘limousine insurgents’ and ‘armchair guerrillas.’”

Those signing the letter were Sens. Brownback, Bob Graham (D-FL), Jesse Helms (R-NC), Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Trent Lott (R-MS), John McCain (R-AZ), and Richard Shelby (R-AL), and Reps. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), Hyde and Lantos.

 

Some Positive Bills Progressing

Not all the news from Congress is bad, however. Perhaps the best sign that at least some members of Congress are beginning to show some responsibility on Middle East issues is the fact that H.CON.RES. 253, introduced by Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) in October, continues to gain co-sponsors. This is a balanced bill urging both the Palestinians and the Israelis to end the violence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and specifically endorsing the recommendations of the Mitchell Report. The 15 new co-sponsors since those reported in the previous issue of this magazine are Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Bob Clement (D-TN), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Phil Crane (R-IL), Bob Etheridge (D-NC), Eni Faleomavaega (D-AS), Joseph Hoeffel (D-PA), Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-CA), Donald Payne (D-NJ), David Price (D-NC), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mel Watt (D-NC), and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). On Dec. 11 Frank Pallone (D-NJ) withdrew as a co-sponsor.

The Secret Evidence Repeal bill, however, introduced by Rep. David Bonior (D-MI) last March, has actually lost a co-sponsor. Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) has withdrawn his co-sponsorship, leaving the bill with 101 co-sponsors, including Bonior.

The emphasis on protecting civil rights seems to have shifted toward the Hate Crimes bill, H.R. 1343 (not previously mentioned in this column), introduced by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) last April. The bill would provide federal assistance to states and local jurisdictions to investigate and prosecute crimes motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. The bill has 199 co-sponsors, and there appears to be significant support for getting it passed in this session of Congress. On Nov. 14 and 28 and Dec. 5, Woolsey, Conyers and Jim McGovern (D-MA), respectively, led series of statements on the House floor urging passage of the bill.

In addition, Reps. Ray LaHood (R-IL) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) are circulating a letter for signatures that urges Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge to establish a Muslim-American advisory board within his office.

 

Two New Positive Resolutions Go Nowhere

In the December 2001 Washington Report this writer reported that Rep. James Traficant (D-OH), gave two speeches on the floor of the House urging that the U.S. must recognize statehood for Palestine. On Nov. 5 Traficant made a more formal “statement” introducing H.CON.RES. 261, “expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should support the establishment of a Palestinian state in the Middle East.” Predictably, the bill has no co-sponsors. Traficant has long been one of the most colorful members of the House, with a reputation for saying what he thinks. He is currently under indictment in Ohio on corruption charges and, with his congressional career probably over, he apparently has decided there is nothing more AIPAC can do to him.

Finally, perhaps the best indication of the shift in the mood of Congress is the resolution introduced Nov. 7 by Rep. John LaFalce (D-NY) “recognizing the commencement of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and commending Muslims in the United States and throughout the world for their faith.” This is the kind of commendatory resolution that is routinely introduced and passed the same day without debate. Instead, LaFalce’s resolution gained no co-sponsors and was sent off to the International Relations Committee for quiet burial.

Shirl McArthur, a retired foreign service officer, is a consultant in the Washington, DC area.

< Prev		Next >