[WCUSP] Fw: [ccds_midwest] Fwd: [ChiAntiWar] House of Reps endorses Lebanon massacres 410-8, attacks Syria and Iran
Libby or Mort Frank
lmfrank1 at verizon.net
Thu Jul 20 19:48:07 CDT 2006
This just came in. If your Congressperson supported this, I urge you call
and protest.
Libby
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2006 8:33 PM
Subject: [ccds_midwest] Fwd: [ChiAntiWar] House of Reps endorses Lebanon
massacres 410-8, attacks Syria and Iran
> Conyers and Dingell voted Nay and Kucinich voted "Present." All our
> heroes voted "Yea!" Does anybody have a sense of reality these days?
>
>
> AP Story is here:
> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060720/ap_on_go_co/us_mideast
>
> Excerpt:
>
> So strong was the momentum for the resolution that it was steamrolling
> efforts by a small group of House members who argued that Congress's
> pro-Israel stance goes too far.
>
> The nonbinding resolution is similar to one the Senate passed Tuesday. It
> harshly condemns Israel's enemies and says Syria and Iran should be held
> accountable for providing Hezbollah with money and missile technology used
> to attack Israel.
>
> "I certainly sympathize with the Lebanese people and the Lebanese
> government," Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., told
> CBS' "The Early Show" on Thursday. But, he said, if Hezbollah is "going to
> launch attacks from the Lebanese territory, then tragically the Lebanese
> government and people pay a price for that."
>
> ["I certainly sympathize with the people and government of the town of
> Lidice, but if partisans are going to launch assassinations from the
> territory of Czechoslovakia......." - p>]
>
> Yet as Republican and Democratic leaders rally behind the measure in rare
> bipartisan fashion, a handful of lawmakers have quietly expressed
> reservations that the resolution was too much the result of a powerful
> lobbying force and attempts to court Jewish voters.
>
> "I'm just sick in the stomach, to put it mildly," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall
> (news, bio, voting record) II, D-W.Va., who is of Lebanese descent.
>
> Rahall joined other Arab-American lawmakers in drafting an alternative
> resolution that would have omitted language holding Lebanon responsible
> for Hezbollah's actions and called for restraint from all sides. Rahall
> said that proposal was "politely swept under the rug," a political reality
> he and others say reflects the influence Israel has in Congress.
>
> "There's a lot (of lawmakers) that don't feel it's right ... but vote yes,
> and get it the heck out of here," Rahall said.
>
> Rep. Darrell Issa (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., who co-sponsored
> the alternative resolution and also is of Lebanese descent, agreed. The
> American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby "throws in language that
> AIPAC wants. That isn't always the best thing for this body to endorse,"
> Issa said.
>
>
>
> Here's the roll-call: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll391.xml#N
>
> Gutierrez, Davis, Rush, and Schakowsky all voted for the resolution.
>
> The 8 'no' votes were Abercrombie, Conyers, Dingell, Kilpatrick of
> Michigan, McDermott, Paul, Rahall, and Stark. Kaptur, Kucinich, Lee, and
> Waters voted "Present". Cynthia McKinney and 9 others were not on the
> floor at the time.
>
>
> RESOLUTION
> Condemning the recent attacks against the State of Israel, holding
> terrorists and their state-sponsors accountable for such attacks,
> supporting Israel's right to defend itself, and for other purposes.
> Whereas on September 12, 2005, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal
> from Gaza, demonstrating its willingness to make sacrifices for the sake
> of peace;
> Whereas more than 1,000 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel
> since Israel's disengagement;
> Whereas in a completely unprovoked attack that occurred in undisputed
> Israeli territory on June 25, 2006, Israeli Defense Forces Corporal Gilad
> Shalit was kidnapped and is being held hostage in Gaza by a Palestinian
> terrorist group which includes members of Hamas;
> Whereas Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, in Damascus, Syria, has
> acknowledged the role of Hamas in holding Corporal Shalit hostage;
> Whereas in a completely unprovoked attack that occurred in undisputed
> Israeli territory on July 12, 2006, operatives of the terrorist group
> Hezbollah operating out of southern Lebanon killed three Israeli soldiers
> and took two others hostage;
> Whereas Israel fully complied with United Nations Security Council
> Resolution 425 (1978) by completely withdrawing its forces from Lebanon,
> as certified by the United Nations Security Council and affirmed by United
> Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on June 16, 2000, when he said,
> `Israel has withdrawn from [Lebanon] in full compliance with Security
> Council Resolution 425.';
> Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 (2004) calls for
> the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon and the
> dismantlement of all independent militias in Lebanon;
> Whereas despite the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution
> 1559, the Government of Lebanon has failed to disband and disarm
> Hezbollah, allowing Hezbollah instead to amass 13,000 rockets, including
> rockets that are more destructive, longer-range and more accurate than
> rockets previously used by Hezbollah, and has integrated Hezbollah into
> the Lebanese Government;
> Whereas the Government of Israel has previously shown great restraint
> despite the fact that Hezbollah has launched at least four separate
> attacks into Israel using rockets and ground forces over the past year;
> Whereas the failure of the Government of Lebanon to implement all aspects
> of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559 and to extend its
> authority throughout its territory has enabled Hezbollah to launch armed
> attacks against Israel and recently to kidnap Israeli soldiers;
> Whereas Hezbollah's strength derives significantly from the direct
> financial, military, and political support it receives from Syria and
> Iran, and Hezbollah also receives important support from sources within
> Lebanon;
> Whereas Iranian Revolutionary Guards continue to operate in southern
> Lebanon, providing support to Hezbollah and reportedly controlling its
> operational activities;
> Whereas the Government of the United States has enacted several laws,
> including the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration
> Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-175) and the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of
> 1996 (Public Law 104-172), which call for the imposition of sanctions on
> Syria and Iran for, among other things, their support for terrorism and
> terrorist organizations;
> Whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly called for full
> implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559;
> Whereas section 1224 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal
> Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) withholds certain assistance to Lebanon
> contingent on the deployment of the Lebanese armed forces to the
> internationally recognized border between Lebanon and Israel and its
> effective assertion of authority in the border area in order, among other
> reasons, to prevent cross-border infiltration by terrorists, precisely the
> criminal activity that has provoked the current crisis;
> Whereas President George W. Bush stated on July 12, 2006, `Hezbollah's
> terrorist operations threaten Lebanon's security and are an affront to the
> sovereignty of the Lebanese Government. Hezbollah's actions are not in the
> interest of the Lebanese people, whose welfare should not be held hostage
> to the interests of the Syrian and Iranian regimes.', and has repeatedly
> affirmed that Syria and Iran must be held to account for their shared
> responsibility in the recent attacks;
> Whereas the United States recognizes that some members of the
> democratically-elected Lebanese parliament are working to build an
> autonomous and sovereign Lebanon and supports their efforts; and
> Whereas both Hezbollah and Hamas refuse to recognize Israel's right to
> exist and call for the destruction of Israel: Now, therefore, be it
>
> Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
> (1) reaffirms its steadfast support for the State of Israel;
> (2) condemns Hamas and Hezbollah for engaging in unprovoked and
> reprehensible armed attacks against Israel on undisputed Israeli
> territory, for taking hostages, for killing Israeli soldiers, and for
> continuing to indiscriminately target Israeli civilian populations with
> their rockets and missiles;
> (3) further condemns Hamas and Hezbollah for cynically exploiting civilian
> populations as shields, locating their equipment and bases of operation,
> including their rockets and other armaments, amidst civilian populations,
> including in homes and mosques;
> (4) recognizes Israel's longstanding commitment to minimizing civilian
> loss and welcomes Israel's continued efforts to prevent civilian
> casualties;
> (5) demands the Governments of Iran and Syria to direct Hamas and
> Hezbollah to immediately and unconditionally release Israeli soldiers
> which they hold captive;
> (6) affirms that all governments that have provided continued support to
> Hamas or Hezbollah share responsibility for the hostage-taking and attacks
> against Israel and, as such, should be held accountable for their actions;
> (7) condemns the Governments of Iran and Syria for their continued support
> for Hezbollah and Hamas in their armed attacks against Israelis and their
> other terrorist activities;
> (8) supports Israel's right to take appropriate action to defend itself,
> including to conduct operations both in Israel and in the territory of
> nations which pose a threat to it, which is in accordance with
> international law, including Article 51 of the United Nations Charter;
> (9) commends the President of the United States for fully supporting
> Israel as it responds to these armed attacks by terrorist organizations
> and their state sponsors;
> (10) urges the President of the United States to bring the full force of
> political, diplomatic, and economic sanctions available to the Government
> of the United States against the Governments of Syria and Iran;
> (11) demands the Government of Lebanon to do everything in its power to
> find and free the kidnapped Israeli soldiers being held in the territory
> of Lebanon;
> (12) calls on the United Nations Security Council to condemn these
> unprovoked acts and to take action to ensure full and immediate
> implementation of United Nations Security Council 1559 (2004), which
> requires Hezbollah to be dismantled and the departure of all Syrian
> personnel and Iranian Revolutionary Guards from Lebanon;
> (13) expresses its condolences to all families of innocent victims of
> recent violence; and
> (14) declares its continued commitment to working with Israel and other
> United States allies in combating terrorism worldwide.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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