Condemning the Recent Attacks Against the State of Israel
CONDEMNING THE RECENT ATTACKS AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, today the world watches with sadness and grave concern as the Middle East is at war, civilians are being killed and maimed, and the possibility of a region-wide conflict grows by the day. People around the world watch this violence and ask what are the world's leaders doing to stop the killing, to end the bloodshed? We hear tough words, satellite television diplomacy, accusations and excuses, but no action or urgency to end the violence. With this type of global response we can all be tragically assured that our televisions will continue to show the horror, destruction and the suffering faces of innocents in Israel and Lebanon for some time to come.
I extend my prayers and heartfelt sympathy to the citizens of Israel and Lebanon who are suffering and grieving. Allow me to also extend my sympathies to Canada which also had citizens tragically killed in this conflict. In light of so many civilian deaths and destruction of infrastructure, it would be my hope and desire that the international community, led by the United States, would immediately start the difficult work of brokering a cessation to the killing and the start of a process to resolve this conflict through diplomacy rather than rockets and bombs. This is essential to allow the thousands of U.S. citizens to be safely evacuated out of Lebanon, as well as to prevent a much larger regional conflict from starting.
The entire world knows that Hezbollah, a terrorist organization, has provoked this conflict by illegally entering the sovereign territory of Israel on the border with Lebanon, abducting two Israeli soldiers and killing eight more. Today, this House rightly condemns this act and Hezbollah's on-going acts of terror with the passage of H. Res. 921.
The United States has a profound national interest in the security of Israel. The right of Israel and all sovereign nations to be secure and defend themselves from acts of violence and terror is clearly defined in international law. The action of Hezbollah to enter Israel on July 12, 2006 and commit acts of kidnapping and terror demands a focused military response that sends a clear message that terrorism will not be tolerated. The firing of rockets into Haifa and other Israeli cities and towns with the intent of killing and harming innocent civilians requires a firm, focused and proportional response against Hezbollah.
Yet, today, after a week of open warfare, there is the on-going destruction of civilian infrastructure in both Haifa and Beirut and more than 300 dead in Lebanon and at least 25 dead in Israel, overwhelmingly innocent civilians on both sides. In the near term, there is no prospect of security for Israeli or Lebanese civilians, only more death, destruction, fear and suffering on both sides. It is time for the international community to change this hopeless dynamic and immediately start to work to end this war using diplomatic power before it escalates and spreads throughout the entire Middle East. On the day of Hezbollah's incursion into Israel, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, ``I want to make clear that the event this morning is not a terror act, but an act of a sovereign state that attacked Israel without reason.'' This statement explicitly attributes to the Lebanese Republic the responsibility for this aggression against Israel, not Hezbollah. This is of concern since there has been no evidence put forth that the nascent government of Lebanese Prime Minister Faud Siniora has any knowledge of or sanctioned Hezbollah's terrorist act.
Lebanon is being bombed, ripped apart, in response to Hezbollah's terrorism. This strategic response may offer short-term security for Israel, but it also has the very real potential of transforming Lebanon into a radicalized, failed state. How will Lebanon recover politically and economically when this war ends? It is inconceivable that when the bombing stops there will suddenly be an international outpouring of generous donors willing support to spend billions of dollars to rebuild Lebanon's destroyed infrastructure, re-invest in its evaporated economy, and salvage its threatened democracy. It is much more likely that a new generation will be radicalized by the loss of hope in the future. At this moment, the prospect of a land bridge--a terrorist highway--of failed states and rogue nations stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf is a scenario that has emerged and poses a major threat to global security.
I am disturbed at the diplomatic impotence of the Bush administration as it plays the role of a spectator watching this war escalate and the death-toll mount. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is correct and to be commended for moving forward quickly to marshal international support to negotiate an immediate cease fire. I believe President Bush should join him in working to make a cease fire a reality. Furthermore, I strongly agree with Mr. Annan's call for a significant multinational force in Lebanon to secure the border with Israel, eliminate Hezbollah's military capacity, and help to establish the presence of whatever Lebanese army remains to enforce UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
Of course there are many voices here in the United States that oppose diplomacy and are comfortably dismissive of the death, destruction and long-term consequences of this war. Today, an editorial in the Washington Post dismisses diplomacy by saying, ``If Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice makes the mistake of visiting Damascus, Mr. Assad will roll out the red carpet; then he will offer to stop the rocket and missile fire against Israel by Hezbollah and Hamas, on Syria's terms. The result will be to restore Damascus's influence in Lebanon and destroy the new independent, democratic government in Beirut--which has far more to fear from such a deal than from Israel's cratering of its airport runways and bridges.'' This ``let them fight'' sycophancy from the comfort of a safe office in the U.S. rather than a bombed out apartment or office building in Beirut ignores the obvious--Lebanon's democracy is being destroyed and it is a country on a path to becoming a failed state, as well as a haven for terrorists for years to come, unless the international community intervenes to change the current equation and establishes a guarantee of security for civilians.
It is important to remember that on April 18, 2006, President Bush appeared at a White House with Lebanon's Prime Minister Siniora and said, ``There's no question in my mind that Lebanon can serve as a great example of what is possible in the broader Middle East; that out of tough times the country has been through will rise a state that shows that it's possible for people of religious differences to live side-by-side in peace; to show that it's possible for people to put aside past histories to live together in a way that the people want, which is, therefore, to be peace and hope and opportunity.''
Three months later Prime Minister Siniora's nation is a war zone, Israel is under attack daily from Hezbollah rockets, and the United States is content with waiting for the outcome of a conflict which threatens our vital security interests. It is shocking, sad and disturbing turn of events.
Today we pass H. Res. 921 and recommit our support for Israel as it is under attack from a terrorist organization. Our prayers are with the families in Israel that want security, peace and hope. At the same time, my prayers are with the people of Lebanon who reject terror and have rebuilt their country over the past decade after years of civil war. Israeli cities and towns are being terrorized by Hezbollah rockets that should be targeted and destroyed, but I do not believe the massive attacks launched against civilian targets in Lebanon are justified.
The U.S. has an obligation to stand with our ally as well as advance our vital interests in the region--security for Israel and the survival of Lebanon. Defending these interests is complicated and extraordinarily difficult because Israel is not secure and Lebanon may not survive. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has chosen the path of apathy, not diplomatic action. It is absolutely essential that the U.S. engage the rgion, hold terrorists accountable, and mobilize the Arab world, along with our European allies, to end the terrorist attacks on Israel while providing Lebanon with the support and resources needed to survive and excise Hezbollah. To do anything less in the upcoming days allows the possibility for an escalation into a global security and economic nightmare that will bring this Middle East war home to America.
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