[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 71 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    PRESIDENT OBAMA'S LATEST MIDDLE EAST SPEECH SHOWS A FAILURE OF 
                               LEADERSHIP

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                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2011

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, President Obama's recent speech 
on the Middle East turmoil was billed as a ``reset'' of America's 
relationship with the Arab world. We were promised a new era of 
American diplomacy.
  Instead, what we got was the same-old failed policies of throwing 
money at a problem, which could end up having a detrimental effect on 
our friend and ally, Israel.
  President Obama is supporting movements in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and 
Syria while at the same time he is in effect telling Israel ``you're on 
your own.'' The President with our tax dollars is supporting who? We 
don't know! Will it be the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt or radical 
Islamists in Libya, Syria, or Tunisia? And, what about Bahrain or 
Yemen?
  Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East yet President Obama is 
urging a Palestinian State; one that governs in partnership with a 
known terrorist, Israel-hating group--Hamas.
  Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, by choosing to partner 
in government with Hamas, has proven he has no desire for peace with 
Israel.
  President Obama's endorsement of the Palestinian demand for their own 
State based on the pre-1967 borders completely reverses our 
longstanding policy that borders must be determined through 
negotiations and puts our relationship with Israel in peril.
  The Palestinians have been conducting a diplomatic campaign to 
portray Israel as a renegade, pariah State flouting the will of the 
international community, in prelude to demanding that the United 
Nations General Assembly unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State 
based on the 1967 borders.
  By essentially announcing his support of that proposal, President 
Obama has made that action very likely.
  The President, in his speech, espoused policy changes that will lead 
to more problems for Israel, while he leaves them on their own. Buried 
toward the end of the President's speech was a statement that 
challenges the current U.S.-Israel security alliance.
  The President said, ``As for security, every state has the right to 
self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself--by itself--
against any threat.''
  It appears as though the President--either intentionally or 
unintentionally--is throwing Israel to the wolves. A statement like 
that gives encouragement to those who seek Israel's destruction and 
could serve as a spark for continued unrest in the Middle East.
  It is the wrong message to send and it is my hope that the President 
will reassess his ill-advised position and acknowledge this reality 
before it is too late.

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