In today’s issue of the Forward, John Kerry has an article entitled “An Unwavering Commitment to Reforming the Middle East.”
There are a lot of me-too statements, designed to align Kerry with Bush’s positions on Israel, consistent with the strategy Kerry adopted in February. Kerry supports Israel’s right to build a security fence, says new Palestinian leadership is required, and thinks Sharon‘s withdrawal plan “holds great promise.” He says a nuclear-armed Iran is “unacceptable.”
These statements repeat positions emailed in June to Jewish supporters of Kerry in a document entitled “John Kerry: Strengthening Israel’s Security and Bolstering the US-Israel Special Relationship.” Rather than simply repeat them in a Jewish periodical, the document should be put on Kerry’s website — as a sign they represent a formal campaign position on U.S. foreign policy, not simply positions for consumption by a particular segment of the electorate. The current Kerry website statement on the Middle East contains none of the specifics in the document or article.
And, in the latest installment of truth-in-campaigning, Kerry’s Forward article leaves the misimpression that he led on the issue of Syria, and was more committed than Bush:
The Syria Accountability Act, which I co-sponsored in the Senate, gave the president authority to sanction Syria, a concrete step against Syria’s support for terror and its occupation of Lebanon. As president, I will never delay implementing sanctions as the Bush administration did for many months.
For the record:
1. Number of co-sponsors in the Senate: 82.
The bill passed the House (408-8) and the Senate (89-4) thanks (in AIPAC’s words) to “the commitment and leadership of Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Reps. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.).”
2. Number of months between the date the Act was signed into law (December 11, 2003) and the date sanctions were determined and announced (May 11, 2004): five.
In addition to the sanctions provided for under the Act, Bush decided to impose additional sanctions (including requiring U.S. financial institutions to sever correspondent accounts with the Commercial Bank of Syria and freezing assets of certain Syrian individuals and government entities).
3. Excerpt from a October 23, 2003 letter from Kerry to a constituent concerned about giving the Bush administration “the tools to become increasingly belligerent” under the Act:
“Like Secretary Powell, I am concerned that Syria is not whole-heartedly working towards meeting U.S. demands [that it stop supporting terrorist organizations] . . . I am hopeful that substantial Congressional support for the Accountability Act will influence Syria to meet the demands raised by Colin Powell in May in a more timely and transparent manner.”
Not exactly a demand for immediate imposition of sanctions. More like an authorization to threaten sanctions, but not necessarily impose them. Sound familiar?