Jul 18, 2006- VIOLENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

HON. MARCY KAPTUR
 OF OHIO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2006

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Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, today, again, the newspapers of our country tellthe story of more organized killings, more death, more carnage, more bombings,more escalating violence in the Middle East.

There are photos in this newspaper of fathers and relatives crying in Lebanon, and below it, young people crying in Haifa, in Israel.We all read these stories and we say, why cannot the killing stop? I as justone Member of this Congress am very proud to represent a community that knowswhat it will take for the killing to stop.

Toledo, Ohio,in fact, was the first community in the United States of America to elect amayor who was of American Lebanese heritage, Michael Damas, who is no longerliving. You know, I am so proud of the people of my community.

Today they came to our office in Toledoand they said, Congresswoman, we have a statement that we would like you toconsider. And I thought it was so thoughtful and even-handed that I wanted toread it to the American people tonight. They asked, of course, that Americanswho are in Lebanonbe removed safely, and they asked us to urge the President of our country tomove them out quickly.

But then they wrote, ``We the American Lebanese Descent Community of Toledorequest that the war and the bombing be suspended and our U.S. Governmentpursue peace and save lives in the region: Americans, Israelis, Palestinians,Lebanese and others. It is a simple statement. But I think it is a much morejudicious statement than the President of our country made as part of the G-8summit the other day when using a vulgarity. The President said at one pointthat Syria should getHezbollah to stop its attacks on Israel.

His statement was not even-handed, it was not comprehensive, it did not talkabout peace, it did not recognize the legitimate interests of the people ofthis country, the people of Israel,the people of Lebanon,the people of a future Palestinian.

His statement did not talk about limiting carnage, and the retribution thatcharacterizes the deteriorating situation in Lebanon and in adjoining countries.I am very proud of the people of the greater Toledo area for understanding what it isgoing to take to create peace and to initiate peace.

I am very proud to sponsor today as well, a resolution submitted byCongressman Kucinich of Clevelandthat reads as follows. It calls upon our President to appeal to all sides inthe current crisis in the Middle East for an immediate cessation of violenceand to commit the UnitedStates and our diplomats to multipartynegotiations with no preconditions.

And it calls upon the President to appeal to all of those sides, as thepeople in my community have done, for an immediate cessation of violence. Wouldit have not been great if President Bush, like President Reagan had done withMenachem Began when he served as Prime Minister of Israel, and asked for animmediate cessation of violence? That did not happen with President Bush.

This resolution of Mr. Kucinich would commit the United Statesand our diplomatic efforts to multiparty negotiations without precondition. Itwould send high-level diplomatic missions to the region to facilitate suchmultiparty negotiations, and would include representatives from the Governmentsof Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority andit would support an international peacekeeping mission to southern Lebanon toprevent cross-border skirmishes during such multiparty negotiations.

Does that not sound like a much healthier way for the world to move? Therewill be many resolutions offered here this week. And I ask myself, will they beas judicious as the people of our community? Will they be as full-bodied? Willthey be as even-handed? Will they have a peace process envisioned at the end ofthis horrible, horrible road?

Will they recognize the legitimate interests of all parties concerned? Andwill they seek to limit carnage, or will those resolutions continue to engenderhate and further retribution?

Mr. Speaker, this is a critical time for the world, not just for ourcountry, but for so many fragile nations who really need the time to heal andthe time to let democracy develop.

Mr. Speaker, I hope, with those peace-loving people of our community thatpeace is just ahead.