Democratic Candidates on Israel and Palestine

Short Commentary on Candidates Statements - Click Expand to Read Below.

This article is from James Zogby, head of the Arab-American Institute [AAI], in reference to video-taped recordings of the three major candidates for the AAI Conference. Though they sent taped messages, none of the major Dems attended (the Republicans didn't even both sending recordings). This is especially sad when juxtaposed to the fact that they all attended the AIPAC Conference [American Israel Public Affairs Committee]. Then again, so did practically every other major American political figure, from Cheney and Boehner to Pelosi and Reid, so that's not saying much I suppose.

This is what Zogby had to say about the comments provided by the candidates. He has the links to the videos of the statements in the article:

Of the four, Obama, Edwards and Richardson spoke of their personal commitment to become directly engaged in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Only Obama and Richardson directly expressed their commitment to realize the specific outcome of two states, while Edwards described this outcome only as a goal worth making a "serious effort to achieve."

[...]

What is interesting is the degree to which Senator Clinton's comments stood in contrast to those of her fellow candidates. Whether intentionally or not, she was remarkably vague, promising neither personal involvement in peacemaking nor committing to a specific outcome, saying only that "U.S. involvement" serves a tactical objective in that it would "lower the level of violence and help to restore our credibility in the region." (In fact, a review of all of Clinton's published statements and remarks since becoming a candidate provided nothing that would add clarity to her position on this critical issue.)

Clinton is Bush-Cheney lite folks. That's not to say that we should praise the other candidates for being too cowardly to attend the conference, but one thing that is certain is that Clinton (who chided her husband for being too soft on the Palestinians) will only provide more of the same failed strategies on this issue. Failed strategies which are both bad for Israel and for Palestine.