[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 40 (Friday, April 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E522]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE FAILURE OF ARAB LEADERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SHELLEY BERKLEY

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 11, 2002

  Ms. BERKLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop pretending that the 
Palestinian Leadership desires, or is even capable of, achieving peace. 
Yasser Arafat and the current Palestinian Leadership are terrorists, 
just as surely as Mullah Omar and the Taliban, or Osama Bin-Laden and 
Al-Qaida. The United States cannot adopt a policy of negotiating with 
terrorists. Since the inception of this country we have embraced a 
foreign policy founded on the principles of fairness and right. We do 
not bow to expediency or terror. We stand for something greater. 
America's principled foreign policy is the foundation of our strength 
and credibility; it is, in large part, what makes this country great. 
To negotiate with terrorists would be to undermine this fundamental 
principle of our American strength. We cannot--we must not-- negotiate 
with terrorists. If we are to remain strong and fair, we must sever our 
ties with Arafat, with Fatah, and with the PLO.
  Some have been overly cautious not to call Yasser Arafat a terrorist. 
This is driven in large part by a cringing reluctance to recognize his 
obvious association with terrorist groups, and the current lack of any 
alternatives. But that very lack of leadership is the result of our 
reliance on Arafat and the Fatah terrorists. By removing America's 
diplomatic and financial support from these terrorist groups, the 
Palestinian people may finally be empowered to choose a leader--not the 
current leaders of war and martyrdom and self-aggrandizement--but a 
leader devoted to peace and the Palestinian self-interest.
  The United States must not shirk from calling terrorists what they 
really are, and it is a grave mistake for the United States to call 
upon Israel to end its mission against terror in the West Bank. America 
must allow Israel to take its place beside us in the war against 
terror. How can we as a nation justify ridding the world of the Taliban 
and Al-Qaida if we continue to criticize Israel for ridding the world 
of Jihad, Hamas, or the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade. And what more 
evidence do we need of Arafat's direct involvement in these tactics of 
terror than his own handwritten notes authorizing payments to 
terrorists and their families? Arafat still pays the terrorists, 
provides the weapons, and offers political cover for their activities.
  The current Israeli mission is intended to dismantle the growing 
terrorist network operating freely throughout Palestinian areas. Israel 
has already uncovered thousands of illegal weapons including Kassam 
missiles, car bombs, and explosive belts used for suicide missions. 
Cities of the West Bank, like Jenin, have become safe havens for 
terrorists, in the same way that murderers took refuge among the 
Taliban in Afghanistan. These are not the cities of peace in a nascent 
homeland. These are markets of death, waging a war against Israel, 
America, Jews and Christians, and all of the ideals of the free and 
civilized world.
  Arab leaders throughout the Middle East must publicly embrace peace 
as a concept and condemn the tactics of terror. It is unacceptable for 
the leaders of Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to refuse to speak out 
against suicide bombers. These countries must renounce terrorism 
unconditionally whenever and wherever it occurs. The Secretary of State 
should not be going to the Middle East to pressure the Israelis to end 
their anti-terror operations. He should be in the Middle East to say 
loud and clear that if you are an ally of terrorists and terrorism, you 
are not an ally of the United States of America, and you will never 
receive one penny of American foreign aid.
  It is time for the Arab world to know the United States is serious 
about rooting out terror--wherever it dwells. The Arab world must stop 
the hateful rhetoric against the people of Israel and the West; its 
leaders must make clear to the Palestinians that their terrorist 
actions only prolong and jeopardize their historic quest for a 
homeland, and sow the seeds of despair and hate that will take 
lifetimes to undo. The Arab world must know that America and Israel 
stand together, partners in the war against terror.

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