AIPAC Florida Remarks

AIPAC Florida Remarks

Thank you for that kind introduction. I liked Bubba the moment I met him - if you are from Texas you instinctually like anyone named Bubba. I'm honored to join you tonight, and I want to thank you for this opportunity.

I enjoyed traveling to Israel not too long ago, and I look forward to going back again as soon as I can. That trip left me with profound impressions, first, of the Israeli people's aspirations for peace and hope in the midst of violent conflict. Second, I observed that Israel really is in a struggle for its very existence. And, third, I was struck by how much Israel and America have in common, even more so after 9/11.

Finally, if you will allow me to say so, I was impressed with how much Israel and Texas have in common. As the great Sam Houston, whose seat I am honored to hold in the Senate, once said: "Texas has yet to learn submission to any oppression, come from whatever source it may."

Israel and the United States have a friendship that spans the oceans, based firmly on our shared values. We have stood together in good times and bad since the state of Israel was first established. Israel is our constant ally in the Middle East, a partnership strengthened by our mutual belief in and commitment to democracy, justice, security, peace and freedom.

That alliance must never falter. I pledge that I will do my part to see that it never does.

Today, the United States and our allies are fighting a global war on terrorism. Yes, a global war. This is not just about Afghanistan and Iraq, or even just Israel for that matter. Since America suffered its first terror attack in New York in 1993, we've been hit in Kenya and Tanzania at our embassies, the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen, and of course the attacks of 9/11, Bali, Madrid, and Beslan. And the list goes on and on.

No, this challenge of our generation is not just about isolated incidents of terrorism. It's a global war. One we did not choose, but one we cannot and will not ignore.

This is about taking the battle wherever the terrorists plot, plan, train, and build their weapons. In the aftermath of September 11th, President Bush decided-with the authorization of Congress at every turn-that if diplomacy would not yield the peace we seek, that if the UN declined to enforce its own resolutions requiring inspections and disarmament, we would when necessary use pre-emptive action against those who seek to harm America, who threaten peace and provide sanctuary to terrorists.

This is nothing new, of course. In 1941 after Pearl Harbor, it was FDR who said: "If you hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes, you will never know what hit you." And, thank goodness, that was Israel's policy in June 1981 when it knocked out Saddam Hussein's Osirak nuclear reactor.

Israel exists today because its leaders have had the wisdom and the courage to undertake preemptive action, sometimes called preventative self-defense, when it was necessary.

No one wants to imagine what could have happened if Iraq's nuclear program had not been destroyed in 1981. And it is no accident today that Israel's best friends in the world - including the United States, Great Britain, and Poland - are also the nations taking the lead in Iraq. Let there be no doubt, we are absolutely determined that the new Iraq will never again harbor Islamist terrorists or threaten anyone with weapons of mass destruction.

The reality is that America must choose how we will fight this terrorist threat: either we will fight them on their own ground, or they will fight us on ours.

We chose our course of action. And yes, it has sparked condemnation from some in the global community. But for those who want America to rely on reaching international consensus before we act, or allowing the U.N. to guide our foreign policy action, I'd remind them that the global community has not exactly been supportive of Israel.

My friends, we must not forget that the last time that Israel came out on top in a vote before the United Nations was the vote on the creation of Israel as a state.

Since that time, what have we seen from the U.N.? We have seen the U.N. condemn Zionism as racism; we have seen the world court at the Hague demand that Israel dismantle its efforts to protect itself; and we have heard the U.N.R.W.A. (Relief and Works Agency) and Kofi Annan repeatedly condemn Israel for defending itself against terrorism.

Like Israel, America's desire to achieve the applause of the international community cannot come at the expense of our core values and interests. I sincerely doubt whether that desire is achievable in any event. When necessary, we must have the courage, as then Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan did in 1975, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel and say: "The United States rises to declare before the General Assembly of the United Nations and before the world that it does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous act."

September 11th taught America a lesson that Israel learned long ago: that our security depends on preventing terrorism, not just opening a criminal investigation after innocent blood is shed. That is why I support the continued steps of Israel's democratically elected leaders to stop agents of terror before they kill. We must defy the demands of all of those who recruit, encourage and reward human sacrifice at the altar of political ambition.

Then there is Iran; already a leading sponsor of terrorism, including support for Hezbollah and Hamas, and there is not doubt it is intent on developing nuclear weapons as it has long range missiles capable of reaching Israel. I am glad that this Administration will not reward Tehran by providing them incentives, including nuclear fuel in the vain hope they will eschew nuclear arms.

Exhibit "A" to our argument is North Korea.

We must not allow ourselves to drop our guard towards a nation's leaders that cannot be trusted. As Ronald Reagan once said, "We cannot play innocents abroad in a world that is not innocent."

I am thankful, and I believe we should all be thankful, that Saddam Hussein, a bloodthirsty dictator and an enemy of Israel, has been toppled. I am proud of everyone who made it possible, from the most junior recruit to the commander in chief, and I believe they are all doing remarkable jobs under difficult circumstances. The world is better off today because of their dedication and sacrifice.

We found unspeakable horror in Saddam's Iraq - torture cells, rape rooms, execution chambers, and children's prisons. We found a legacy of fear and terror, the vestiges of years of unimaginable cruelty. We found more than a million people missing, and 300,000 dead, so far, buried in mass graves spread throughout Iraq, in nearly 100 reported sites - including one I witnessed a year ago last August. The graves are silent monuments of Saddam's ruthlessness, left behind for all to see.

As a nation and people that have been blessed beyond all measure, I believe we have a duty regarding what kind of world we leave for our children. We must deal with the threats of terrorists today, in this time, in this generation. If the 20th Century has taught us anything, violent dictators cannot go unchallenged, whether they go by the name of Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, or Saddam Hussein.

None of this - of course - is easy - and it is not without cost. But it is a task that must be finished - so that Iraq will never again threaten America or its neighbors in the Middle East. It must be finished - so that those terrorists who seek to drive the people of Israel into the sea will know they are living on borrowed time. It must be finished - so that the victories won, the hardship endured, the lives risked and lost - will not be in vain.

Today, America and Israel share the same goal: the complete and total eradication of terrorism in our time. We seek a just, free, and peaceful world - for ourselves, and for future generations. We seek a peace that is more than an interval of dreaming between two periods of reality (Charles Krauthammer). And together we pray that a good and benevolent God will hasten that day.

I will leave you with this, my friends. A passage in the Mishnah lays down that to destroy one life is to destroy a whole world. Whenever a life is destroyed - by a terrorist, a dictator, or any other murderer - the responsibility falls to us, in the civilized world, to respond. We cannot erase the barbarity of an evil act.

As much as our hearts desire it, we cannot change the past - in New York, in Washington D.C., in Israel or anywhere else. So we are forced to recognize the lessons of a fallen world - that evil men will always exist, and they will do evil things.

Yet for those of us left behind, it is the communal response to an evil act that matters most of all. Our response must resound with dignity, assurance and absolute clarity. It must echo through every age, and every generation. We must recognize evil for what it is - and we must fight it with every fiber of our being.

The challenges of the Middle East often seem to be overwhelming. It is a sobering and sad fact of life. Still, there is hope. It is sometimes amazing to think that Israel has survived all it has been through thus far. David Ben-Gurion described it this way: "In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles."

Well, I believe in miracles. And I believe that one day, the people of Israel and the people of America will once again live in peace.

Thank you.