Since last night I have tried to keep my fingers duct-taped against writing about this subject at all, but it is a big wedge of Hillary Clinton's foreign policy pie, and conflicting articles are flying all over the internet like a swarm of killer bees, so I guess I have no choice.
As you know, and saw here earlier this week, Secretary Clinton addressed the AIPAC Conference on Monday reiterating the administration position on the issue of building settlements in East Jerusalem, a position that mirrors that of The Quartet, of which the United States is a member, and which the previous Friday issued its own policy statement on the same issue posted here. The evening of the same day Secretary Clinton spoke to AIPAC, Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke to the same audience and rejected the U.S. position.
He met with Preident Obama the next day, at length, and all through the time that has followed, there has been no indication that the U.S. has shifted its position. I really cannot see how we can since we are signatories of the Quartet statement. Yet, this weekend, news is breaking that there is a letter circulating in Congress (and a similar letter in the Senate) asking the administration to revise its position.
Conflicting reports abound. I have two examples to offer. MJ Rosenberg at HuffPo appears to believe the letter is addressed to President Obama. He offers a quotation from George Washington on the issue of favored states. It is a quote that is read in Congress every year on Washington's birthday. A link at the bottom of the article provides a list of Representatives who have signed said letter.
Heckuva Job, AIPAC ++ Names of Members of Congress Backing Netanyahu
He also states the following:
...the 7,800 delegates were warned in advance not to boo or hiss Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she discussed achieving peace with the Palestinians -- and they didn't.
My goodness!
This article, however, has the letter addressed to Secretary Clinton, with a header that just put me in the Hot Tub Time Machine right back to the 2008 primaries when remarks were made about her temperament.
House Majority to Clinton: Calm Down on Israel
(IsraelNN.com) More than 75 percent of Congressmen in the U.S.House of Representatives have signed a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing support for Israel and demanding an end to the highly-publicized state of tensions with Israel.
I admit that I am not familiar with this source, but that really is not important. I watched Secretary Clinton's AIPAC speech, and I believe it is irrefutable that she was very calm and reasoned. She has been throughout this entire dust-up, including her remarks to the media about the insulting nature of the announcement while VP Biden was on the ground seeking a way to get a peace process off the ground. She has been most even-tempered. We have not seen flashing anger (yet).
According to Rosenberg:
300 House Members have signed the letter which contains not one word of criticism of Israel -- not one -- while calling on the President to keep differences with the Israeli government quiet and away from public scrutiny.
It quotes AIPAC's mantra (actually uttered by Biden in Israel before he understood the trap that Netanyahu had set for him):
"Progress occurs in the Middle East when everyone knows there is simply no space between the U.S. and Israel when it comes to security, none. No space."
The Arutz Sheva article states:
Obama's One-Sided Demands on Israel
Obama demands that Netanyahu stop building in eastern Jerusalem and make a series of other gestures to the Palestinian Authority, while not demanding anything from the other side.
This is not true, as a signatory of the Quartet Statement, we endorse demands on the Palestinians as well.
It is unclear to whom this letter is addressed. I looked at the list of Reps who signed, and my guy is there. *sigh* I guess I will have to send him a letter. We cannot have Congress undermining foreign policy set in agreements we sign with our allies and friends. All of the parties in the Quartet want peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution. Bibi is not at odds with the U.S. alone with his intransigence. He is at odds with Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations, as well as the 4th member, the United States. That AIPAC has the ability to influence Congress against American foreign policy feels really wrong when you read that quotation from George Washington. Of course we are Israel's friend. Sometimes, though, your friend does something that is not helpful or smart, like dating the wrong guy or talking on the cell phone while driving. Then you do want to say something.
