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12/01/2005:

"Howard Dean's blunt message: Forget Palestine"

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has a fickle stance on virtually every foreign policy issue thrown his way. None, however, are more telling of his party's incompetence than his posture on the Israeli/Palestinian issue, which is virtually identical to that of the neocons.

Recently Dean returned from a week-long jaunt to Israel sponsored by the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC). Shortly after his return Dean spoke to an elite crowd of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) friends and lobbyists in Philadelphia about his trip to Israel. And the audience was pleased with what they heard.

"Literally, from Israel's birth, as that great Democrat Harry Truman took the courageous step to immediately extend America's hand to recognize the State of Israel," Dean espoused, "Democrats have done all we can to foster the special, enduring relationship between the two countries. Maintaining Israel's security is a key U.S. national security interest . . ."

But Dean's vision of Israel's security is not without consequences for Palestinians or Arab Israelis.

The October 2003 issue of The Jewish Week quoted Gov. Howard Dean as saying that he had been very clear in his support for "targeted assassinations" of alleged Palestinian terror suspects. He believed these men were "enemy combatants in a war," adding, "Israel has every right to shoot them before they can shoot Israelis."
onlinejournal.com