[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 77 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E906-E907]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




UNITED STATES-ISRAEL ROCKET AND MISSILE DEFENSE COOPERATION AND SUPPORT 
                                  ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 19, 2010

  Mr. KUCINICH. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5327, the 
United States-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act of 
2010. This legislation authorizes $205 million dollars for the 
development and implementation of the Iron Dome--a missile defense 
system--that will be placed on Israel's borders with Gaza and Lebanon, 
and professes support for the security of Israel. I strongly support 
that. However, like many Israelis, I believe that Israel's security 
depends upon a stable and peaceful relationship with its Palestinian 
neighbors.
  H.R. 5327 proposes that the means to achieve security for Israel is 
through investing in a missile defense system. I do not support that, 
and neither should anyone truly supportive of the security of Israel. 
Physicists have amply demonstrated that missile defense systems do not 
work. They can't hit a missile with a missile without rigging the tests 
in ways that are not simulations of realistic operation conditions. The 
missile system offered in H.R. 5327 will not stop any missiles, except 
by sheer luck, coming from Gaza or Lebanon.
  This missile defense system will give a false sense of security to 
the Israelis, and it will serve to threaten countries in the region. 
The missile system proposed in H.R. 5327 will cause more 
destabilization, not less. It will cause nerves in the Middle East to 
become more frayed, not less. It will bring about the prospect of a 
military conflict more than it will bring about peace and 
reconciliation in the region.
  I am also concerned that 43 years of military occupation in the West 
Bank, and the crippling siege of Gaza that has entered its fourth year, 
continue to undermine Israel's security. Investment in a missile 
defense system will not eliminate the need to address these

[[Page E907]]

issues that are a fundamental part of securing Israel's future.
  Last week, U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell announced the beginning 
of proximity talks that require him to address the concerns of both the 
Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government prior to an attempt to 
restart direct negotiations on the final status issues. The United 
States has a responsibility to act in good faith as an honest broker.
  Negotiations will not be successful as long as the United States 
continues to stand by idly as illegal settlements continue to be built 
in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Furthermore, 1.5 million people in 
Gaza continue to suffer without basic services and Palestinians in the 
West Bank are denied the freedom of movement and prosperity by the 
separation barrier and hundreds of check points.
  The United States can better demonstrate its strong support for 
Israel by helping it move toward good-faith negotiations that ensure a 
peaceful and prosperous future for Palestinians as well.

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