[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 59 (Friday, May 10, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E758-E759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EXPRESSING SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM

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                               speech of

                            HON. MARK GREEN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 2, 2002

  Mr. GREEN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I offer these comments for the 
Record to supplement my vote on House Resolution 392--the resolution in 
support of Israel in the war against terrorism--which this body 
approved on May 2.
  I voted in favor of the resolution because I believe what it said was 
both substantially accurate and needed to be formally declared by this 
Congress and this Nation: that there is no acceptable justification for 
terrorism in general and suicide bombing in particular. No one--no 
nation, no organization--can ever be perceived as gaining any advantage 
militarily, diplomatically, or politically from this reprehensible 
tactic.
  I offer these comments because I'm afraid the resolution told only 
part of the story. What the resolution said wasn't nearly as 
controversial as what it didn't say. Because while it did incorporate 
some language addressing the humanitarian concerns of the Palestinian 
people, even the most ardent supporter of the current government in 
Israel would have to agree that the resolution was not as balanced as 
it could, or should, have been.
  That's why I voted against ordering the previous question on the rule 
for this resolution. To put it simply, I hoped we could open up the 
debate on the resolution to include additional language. In my opinion, 
we could have made the resolution more balanced, portrayed a

[[Page E759]]

fuller and more exact picture of the situation, and made it more 
productive in achieving a lasting peace in the region. In a House of 
435 Members, there were only 82 who voted with me on this, and only 
three of those were Republicans. I wish we had more, because I think we 
would have ended up with a better piece of legislation.
  In particular, I think the resolution would have been dramatically 
improved had it specifically mentioned our commitment to a Palestinian 
State, and the vision for the future most reasonable people share on 
this issue: two independent states, one Israeli and one Palestinian, 
living side-by-side in peace.

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