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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. House and Senate Have Passed Resolutions Supporting Israel's Military Campaign in West Bank

Aired May 03, 2002 - 05:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And turning our attention now to the Middle East, in Washington, both the House and the Senate have passed resolutions supporting Israel's military campaign in the West Bank.

As CNN'S Jonathan Karl reports, the measures put many Republicans at odds with the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN KARL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The administration didn't want any pro-Israel resolution right now, but the primary author of the Senate measure used the president's own words to make the case for going forward.

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: If you train or arm a terrorist, you are a terrorist. If you feed a terrorist or fund a terrorist, you are a terrorist. And you will be held accountable by the United States and our friends.

KARL: In a direct contradiction of the president's call for Israel to withdraw from the recently occupied territories, the resolution praises Israel for "dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in the Palestinian areas."

SEN. GORDON SMITH (R), OREGON: I'm proud, as a Republican, to be here to do this and upset the apple cart a bit for the Bush administration, not with any malignancy, but because of a principle that I feel very, very personally and deeply, that we as elected members of this body have a right, indeed, an obligation to stand up and be counted right now at this critical hour, no matter what apple carts are overturned in the process.

KARL: On both side of the capital, the few people who agreed with the White House and opposed the resolutions were almost all Democrats.

REP. JOHN DINGELL (D), MICHIGAN: It does not posture the United States as an honest broker seeking to defend the interests of peace and to establish a place and a climate in which Israelis and Israel and Palestinians and a Palestinian state may live at peace. It simply takes one side.

KARL: Despite concerns the resolution could com[plicate diplomatic efforts in the Mideast, the administration reluctantly dropped its opposition to the Senate version. A far greater concern was the more strongly worded measure written by Republican Tom DeLay in the House. It both praises Israel and condemns Yasser Arafat. After DeLay insisted on going forward, the White House tried quickly to negotiate changes with only modest success.

An earlier draft of DeLay's resolution condemned Arafat's "support and coordination of terror." The final version drops the word "coordination." The final version also omits language that accused "forces directly under Yasser Arafat's control of murdering innocent Israelis." Instead, the resolution only refers to forces that are "part of Arafat's Fatah organization."

(on camera): Those changes are important to the White House because the administration does not want the Congress to go on record saying that Arafat is directly responsible for terrorism at the very time that they are trying to negotiate with him.

Jonathan Karl, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Israel and a Palestinian state side by side, it's difficult to imagine with what's going on over there, but it's a vision the "New York Times" says leaders there must work towards. Quoting from the paper's editor page today, "Israeli and Palestinian leaders have ridden the short-term anger to renewed popularity. But failure to understand the long-term trend will mean not only political disfavor, but years more of unnecessary suffering. Leadership means more than listening to the approving roar of the crowd. In this case it means looking beyond the rage of your own people."

Food for thought this morning.

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