The Pelosi Letter.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

September 10, 2003

The Honorable Howard Dean
P.O. Box 1228
Burlington, VT 05402



Dear Governor Dean:


We are writing to respond to your comments on the Middle East at a recent campaign event and in Tuesday's candidate debate and explain why we believe it is wrong to say the U.S. should "not take sides" in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

American foreign policy has been - and must continue to be - based on unequivocal support for Israel's right to exist and to be free from terror. The Palestinians have at best been ambivalent about their willingness to accept Israel's existence and from Yasir Arafat on down they have promoted or acquiesced in the use of terrorism as a tactic in their struggle. It is unacceptable for the U.S. to be "evenhanded" on these fundamental issues.

All of us want a genuine peace process to succeed, and all of us accept the legitimacy of a Palestinian state once the Palestinian leadership and people recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state and not only renounce the use of violence but at last take action to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure inside the Palestinian Authority. Time and time again, the Israeli people have shown their willingness to take risks for peace. But they will only do so with the knowledge that U.S. support for Israel will not waver.

It is important for America to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but in playing this role we must be true to our values and make sure that all parties clearly understand our policies. This is not a time to be sending mixed messages; on the contrary, in these difficult times we must reaffirm our unyielding commitment to Israel's survival and raise our voices against all forms of terrorism and incitement.

Sincerely,

Howard L. Berman
Nancy Pelosi
Robert Matsui
Steny Hoyer
Martin Frost
Nita Lowey
Tom Lantos
Edward Markey
Chet Edwards
Ben Cardin
Steve Rothman
Steve Israel
Gary Ackerman
Barney Frank
Rahn Emanuel
Adam Smith
Anthony Weiner
Chris Bell
Adam Schiff
Hilda Solis
Robert Menendez
Shelley Berkley
Robert Andrews
Joseph Crowley
Jose Serrano
John Larson
Ellen Tauscher
Dennis Cardoza
Patrick Kennedy
Linda Sanchez
Harold Ford Jr.
Brad Sherman
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Alcee Hastings


http://www.house.gov/berman/letter_new.html



Any comments?

(reposted from http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=108&topic_id=38220&mesg_id=39060&page= )


edit-bold

[Cha]

1. What "mixed messages"?

Who is sending "mixed messages"?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. The Democratic Party leadership.

They're confused. The establishment is losing.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

4. I like the fact that we air our dirty laundry.

Nothing to be ashamed of. It's not a Jewish question. It's a people question.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

6. That is bullshit

If support for Israel had any role at all in shaping our Iraq policy, it was a very small one. If you ask most Israelis, they are glad Saddam Hussein is gone but he was hardly the most pressing problem on their minds. If Israel dictated our foreign policy, we'd have attacked Syria or Iran first, because those countries were of much more concern to most Israelis than Saddam Hussein.

[tsipple]

5. Pelosi Satisfied Now

Got the answers she wanted from Dean, who called her personally to answer her questions. She's happy.

Move along here. Nothing to see.

[clar]

10. Whoa, bucko

Enough with the 'move along, nothing here to see' stuff. There's no flame bait here (well except for post #2, and that can be dealt with-
pssst, knock off the jewish conspiracy theories, poster #2) Telling people to move along doesn't exactly foster dialogue. And it feels to me like I'm being told to shut up. Unsurprisingly, I take exception to that.

[babzilla]

7. technically its the Berman letter

Howard Burman is the writer of the letter
-- its the case of Howard B. v. Howard D.

Pelosi was one of the signatures, although after a little feedback she backed off. Lots of Californians in the signatory list if I'm not mistaken which is funny because Dean is taking CA by storm.

Maybe it has something to do with Bustamante being a Lieberman man?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. If I posted "The Berman Letter"

neither of us would even be in this thread. Too oblique.

btw, how's your cat doing?

[babzilla]

9. touche

pussy's fine thanks

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. LOL!

[renie408]

12. I swear to god

it's days like these that make me want to move to Canada.

[madfloridian]

13. Well, her office lied to me about the number who signed.

The aide and I talked a while, and she said ten or twelve signed it.