[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2681-S2682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SECRETARY OF STATE VISIT TO THE MIDDLE EAST

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is 
in the Middle East this week on her first trip to the region as 
America's top diplomat. The Secretary traveled to Egypt earlier in the 
week to attend the international summit in Sharm El Sheikh, and she is 
now visiting Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
  I rise to praise Secretary Clinton for the strong and principled 
diplomacy she has undertaken on America's behalf on this trip, that is 
as reflected in her comments, both prior to her departure from 
Washington and since arriving in the region.
  Secretary Clinton is no stranger to the Middle East, having spent 
significant time there as First Lady and then as our colleague in the 
Senate. As a result, she brings a depth of familiarity with the Middle 
East's complexities and challenges, an appreciation for our friends and 
allies in the region, and a clear-eyed understanding of the interests 
and values that must guide American foreign policy there.
  In particular, I believe Secretary Clinton deserves praise for her 
strong statements on this visit strengthening the forces of moderation 
in the Middle East and challenging the forces of extremism. Having 
recently returned from the region myself, I am convinced, with a 
clarity greater than ever before, that the true dividing line in the 
Middle East today is not between Arabs and Israelis or between Sunni 
Muslims and Shia Muslims. The true dividing line in the Middle East 
today is between moderates and extremists.

[[Page S2682]]

  In every case, it is important to note, the extremist camp is 
sponsored and supported, often trained and equipped, by the Government 
of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran.
  Secretary Clinton deserves praise for her promise to vigorously 
promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as her 
recognition that success in this crucial effort is inseparably linked 
with strengthening the moderate forces among the Palestinians, in 
particular, the Secretary was absolutely correct to make clear that aid 
to the Palestinians should be directed toward bolstering the leaders of 
the Palestinian Authority, President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, 
rather than directly or indirectly rewarding or supporting the 
extremist terrorist leaders of Hamas.
  I am also pleased Secretary Clinton has made clear that any 
reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah must be contingent on Hamas 
accepting the conditions of the so-called Quartet; namely, that Hamas 
must renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and honor 
the agreements made by previous Palestinian Governments. There should 
be no compromise or confusion on this point by anyone. If the leaders 
of Hamas refuse to accept these conditions, they are dooming themselves 
to further isolation from the international community, and they are 
standing in the way of the aid that the world wants to provide the 
Palestinian people who live in Gaza.
  Secretary Clinton, I believe, also deserves commendation for her 
realistic and hardheaded comments about the danger posed by the 
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our friends in the Middle 
East want to know that the U.S. Government understands this threat, 
that we are committed to taking the tough actions necessary to address 
it, and that whatever strategy we adopt, we will do so in real and 
close partnership with them.
  What our friends and allies in the Middle East are asking of us is 
reasonable and very much in America's national security interest.
  I will say that based on my recent visits to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, 
Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, I can attest that there is great 
anxiety in the region about Iran and its intentions, its 
aggressiveness, its extremism, its expansionism. But there is also some 
uncertainty about the direction of American policy toward the 
Government in Tehran.
  The hard truth is that Iranians are determined to acquire nuclear 
weapons. Everything we know about what they are up to tells us that 
and, therefore, we must be even more determined than they if we are to 
stop them from obtaining nuclear weapons.
  Our friends and allies in the Middle East are looking to the United 
States now for leadership and strength. President Obama and Secretary 
Clinton have been very clear that they are committed to preventing Iran 
from going nuclear on their watch. We in Congress have a responsibility 
in turn to work together with the administration to achieve this 
result, which is so critical to our national security and to the 
world's security in the years ahead.
  Again, I thank Secretary Clinton for her leadership, for her words, 
for her outreach, for her representation of America's best interests on 
this, her first trip to the Middle East.

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