Vice President Joe Biden and Senator John Kerry proved their strong support for Israel. Both spoke at AIPAC's annual meeting. Senator Kerry sounded downright Bush-like.
Kerry expressed similar concerns about the Iranian threat. “A nuclear-armed Iran would embolden Hamas and unleash Hezbollah,” he said. “A nuclear-armed Iran could spark a nuclear arms race in the world’s most dangerous neighborhood. When we say that a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable, we mean it.”What about Israel's nuclear weapons? What impact do they have on an arms race? What role has Israel played in making the Middle East, the world's most dangerous neighborhood? American politicians rarely ask such questions or raise these issues. Joe Biden certainly did not:
“The bond between Israel and the United States,” said Biden, “was forged by a shared interest in peace and security; by shared values that respect all faiths and peoples; by deep ties among our citizens; and by a common commitment to democracy.”Biden discussed the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran “plays a dangerous role in the region, supporting terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, and undermining many of our friends,” he said. “Indeed, these proxies are the tools Iran uses to exploit conflicts, like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to its advantage.”
Biden also called upon the Arab world to take meaningful steps to encourage Israeli-Palestinian peace. “Now is the time for Arab states to make meaningful gestures that show the Israeli leadership and people that the promise of ending Israel’s isolation in the region is real,” he said.
Now is the time for Arab states to make meaningful gestures? Israel's neighbors offered a peace plan in 2002. It gathered dust since. Israel and the U.S. are responsible for more wars in the new millennium than any other country. Will the pair give the Arab League peace plan serious consideration?
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