[Peace-discuss] more on Dean's support for Ariel Sharron- something to think about before voting in the Moveon.org primary

[patton paul]

This article appeared in http://muslimwakeup.com/
It details Howard Dean's views on Israel and Mideast issues.  Read this
before you vote in the Moveon.org primary.
-Paul P.

Howard Dean: Sharon's Man?

deansharon.jpg

By Ahmed Nassef

Although often portrayed as progressive, former Vermont governor and
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean falls short on several
issues important to progressives, with the Middle East being one of the
more glaring.

True, Dean is one of the Democratic presidential hopefuls who opposed the
invasion of Iraq (along with Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich,
conservative Senator Bob Graham, former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley
Braun, and Rev. Al Sharpton), but he is closer to a hawk when it comes to
Israel/Palestine and US policy toward Iran.

In a major foreign policy speech earlier this year, Dean, while calling
for an end to Palestinian violence, did not call for an end to Israeli
violence, let alone an end to the illegal Israeli occupation.

And when asked whether his views are closer to the dovish Americans for
Peace Now (APN) or the right wing, Sharon-supporting American Israel
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he stated unequivocally in an interview
with the Jewish weekly The Forward, "My view is closer to AIPAC's view."

"At one time the Peace Now view was important, but now Israel is under
enormous pressure. We have to stop terrorism before peace negotiations,"
he said.

Similarly, Dean's official campaign position on solving the Palestinian
Israeli problem is that "terrorism against Israel must end," but there is
no mention of the Israeli violence that has resulted in over 2,391 deaths
since September 2000.

Last December, Dean told the Jerusalem Post that he unequivocally
supported $8 Billion in US loan guarantees for Israel. "I believe that by
providing Israel with the loan guarantees...the US will be advancing its
own interest," he said. His unconditional support for the loan package, in
addition to $4 Billion in outright grants, went further than even some of
the most pro-Israel elements in the Bush administration, like Paul
Wolfowitz, who wanted to at least include some vague restrictions like
pushing Israel to curtail new settlements and accept a timetable to
establish a Palestinian state.

On the illegal Israeli settlements, Dean seems to be waffling of late. A
pro-Dean blog quotes his campaign as calling for the ultimate removal of
only "a number of existing settlements." (The link back to the official
site was no longer operational as of this writing.) However, in what may
signal a softening of his position to woo progressive voters in the
upcoming MoveOn.org Democratic "Primary" vote, Dean called last month for
"ultimately dismantling the settlements." So which one is it?

But Dean's alignment with AIPAC and their right-wing politics goes much
deeper. Last year, he named Steven Grossman, a former AIPAC head, as his
campaign's chief fundraiser. Soon after, he flew to Israel on an
AIPAC-sponsored junket.

And in a telling statement about whether a President Dean would act any
differently toward Iran than the Bush neocons, Dean also told The Forward,
"The United States has to... take a much harder line on Iran and Saudi
Arabia because they're funding terrorism."

In fact, Dean thinks President Bush is way too soft on Iran. In a March
appearance on CBS' Face The Nation, Dean even claimed that "[President
Bush] is beholden to the Saudis and the Iranians," something that would
certainly come as a surprise to the current regime leaders in Iran who've
been labeled as part of the "axis of evil" by the current US president.

Dean even left open the possibility of preemptive strikes against that
country in that interview, adding that "we have to be very, very careful
of Iran."

Once again, sounding very much like President Bush, Dean charged during a
New Hampshire campaign stop this month that Iran (along with Saudi Arabia,
Syria, and Libya) was "funding Palestinian terrorists and fueling
terrorism throughout the world."

Apparently, there is another side to this "anti-war" candidate. When
combined with his dubious record as governor on issues like welfare
"reform" and gun control, it may be prudent for progressives to think
twice before casting their vote for Howard Dean.
Posted by editor at June 22, 2003 02:40 AM