More 'Right' on Israel Than Bush

The moment images of Saddam Hussein's capture flashed across TV screens around the world, John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman jumped on the opportunity to lash out at Howard Dean for not supporting the war on Iraq, even as they congratulated the Bush White House for a job well done.

It was not, however, the first time that the two Democratic candidates have attacked the former Vermont governor for being too "liberal" on foreign policy. Nor is Iraq the only issue where the Democratic leadership -- and its anointed heirs -- have revealed an unmistakably rightwing agenda.

It is a less-known fact that when it comes to the Israel/Palestinian issue, the Democratic establishment is virtually indistinguishable from the Bush administration.

The less-than-moderate position was on blatant display back in September when Dean was attacked by two of his principal rivals as well as the House Democratic leadership for calling on the United States to take a more "even-handed role" as the chief mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On Sept. 3, Dean declared that the United States should work to "bring the sides together" and "not point fingers" at who is to blame.

He was immediately attacked during a televised debate on Sept. 9 by Joe Lieberman, who described his comments as a move to "compromise our support for Israel," arguing that a more balanced position in the peace process was tantamount to "breaking commitments to longtime allies."

When Dean pointed out that Israel would have to remove an enormous number of settlements in the Occupied Territories to achieve peace, Senator Lieberman strongly objected, insisting that the number of settlements evacuated by Israel should be up to the parties in negotiations. In reality, despite eight years of peace talks in the '90s, throughout which Palestinians demanded that Israel withdraw from its settlements in the Occupied Territories or even just suspend construction of new ones, the number of settlements has nearly doubled. Sharon's insistence on incorporating most of these settlements into Israel is, in fact, one of the most important obstacles preventing the negotiation of a final peace agreement.

Senator Kerry, however, claimed just the opposite in his response to Dean's policy statement, declaring that if Dean called for a more even-handed approach as president, "it would throw this volatile region into even more turmoil."

Such desperate attacks by two presidential hopefuls who now see the upstart Dean surging ahead of them in public opinion polls should not be surprising. What is far more significant, however, is the decision of leading Democratic members of the House of Representatives to join the fray.

In an open letter dated Sept. 10, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Assistant Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Robert Menendez led dozens of other top Congressional Democrats criticized Dean for his statements. Other signatories included such Democratic stalwarts as Howard Berman, Gary Ackerman, Robert Matsui, Tom Lantos, Nita Lowey, Barney Frank, Patrick Kennedy, Edward Markey, Ellen Tauscher, Linda Sanchez, Jose Serrano, Harold Ford, and Shelley Berkley.

The letter characterized Dean's call for a more balanced approached by the U.S. government in the peace process as questioning Israel's right to exist in peace and security. In their letter, the House Democratic leadership also declared that U.S. policy must be "based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror," even though Dean has never given even a hint of believing anything to the contrary.

Ignoring Governor Dean's repeated and categorical denunciation of Palestinian terrorism, the House Democratic leaders also declared that Americans must "raise our voices against all forms of terrorism" and that "this is not the time to be sending mixed messages."