[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 96 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1468-E1469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CONDEMNING THE RECENT ATTACKS AGAINST THE STATE OF ISRAEL

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 19, 2006

  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

[[Page E1469]]

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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