From: aaron@kesher.UUCP (Aaron Schmiedel)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: BILL CLINTON ON ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Keywords: ISRAEL CLINTON BOOR ARKIE SLICK-WILLY
Date: 14 Aug 92 19:11:26 GMT
Organization: KESHERnet International - Dallas, TX


I am no big fan of Clinton, but neither am I a big fan of Bush.  I am having a 
hard time trying to find out who to vote for, because while I think CLinton
will be much better for Israel, I think he will be an economic disaster for
the U.S.  (And visa-versa for Bush).  So, I asked for a report on Clintons
stand on Israel.

(Does *ANYONE* have a copy of the Democratic platform?   I would really like to
see it.  Please don't send me any rhetoric as I am only seeking facts.)



           BILL CLINTON ON ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST


    The end of the Cold War does not mean the end of U.S.
    responsibility abroad, especially in the Middle East.
    The people of the region are still denied peace and
    democracy.  America's friend Israel is still threatened
    by her neighbors.

    The United States has vital interests in the Middle East.
    That is why Governor Clinton supported President Bush's
    efforts to throw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.  We must
    remain engaged in the region and continue to promote the
    spread of democracy, human rights and free markets.

    Among all the countries in the Middle East, only Israel
    has experienced the peaceful transfer of power by ballot
    - not by bullet.  Only Israel could experience it.  As
    President, Bill Clinton will never let Israel down.


                          The Bush Record

The Bush Adminstration has gravely harmed our relationship with Israel.  It
has:

    o Pressured Israel to make once sided concessions in the
      peace process

    o Ignored the cruel and crippling economic boycott of
      Israel by its Arab neighbors, and disregarded other
      roadblocks to peace

    o Denied Israel's request for humanitarian assistance in
      resettling Russian Jews, and

    o Eroded Israel's security needs by selling billions of
      dollars in sophisticated weaponry to Israel's Arab neighbors.

Bill Clinton opposes the Bush Adminstration's actions.  He believe they are no
way to treat a steady friend and stable democracy.



                        THE CLINTON PLAN

Loan Guarantees.  Bill Clinton will grant Israel's longstanding request for our
assistance in its effort to cope with the massive influx of Jewish refugees
from the former Soviet Union.  He will not hold hostage to political struggle
hundreds of thousands or men, women, and children whose freedom we've demanded
for decades.

Peace Process.  The United States will work with the new Israeli government to
move the peace process forward.  In doing so the United States cannot rightly
predetermine the outcome of the negotiations or impose peace on any party.

    o We can and should server as an honest broker, and, on
      occasion, as a catalyst.  No side should be expected
      to make unilateral concessions.

    o Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel and
      must remain an undivided city accessible to people
      of all faiths.

    o Peace that does not provide for Israel's security will
      not be secure and lasting.

Palestinian State.  The Palestinians should have the right -- as specified in
the Camp David Accord -- to participate in the determination of their future.
But they do no have the right to determine Israel's future.  For that reason,
Bill Clinton opposes the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Democracy.  Our foreign policy must promote democracy as will as stability.  We
cannot, as this Admintration has done, ignore the link between the two.

    o We should promote democracy in the Middle East and
      throughout the world.  The Bush Adminstration lost
      an opportunity to promote democracy in Kuwait.

    o A Clinton Adminstration will never forge strategic
      relationships with dangerous, despotic regimes.  The
      Bush Adminstration failed to learn for its appeasement
      of Saddam Hussein when it shared intelligence with him
      awarded him credits, and opposed sanctions to the eve
      of his invasion of Kuwait.  Today the Bush Adminstration
      repeats that mistake as it casts a blind eye on Syria's
      human rights abuses and on its support for terrorism.


A strategic relationship.  The United States has a fundamental interest not
only in the security of Israel but also in our two nations' strategic
cooperation in the region.

    o Unlike the current adminstration, the Clinton Adminstration
      will fulfill American commitments on the pre-
      positioning of military stocks in Israel, and will
      enhance logistics cooperation to support American
      forces in the region.

    o Bill Clinton understands and firmly supports Israel's
      need to maintain a qualitative military edge over any
      potential combination of Arab adversaries.  Clinton
      remembers the contributions Israel made during the Gulf War
      -- especially the forbearance which was so essential
      to the war effort.  He also knows that had Israel not
      conducted its surgical strike against Iraq's nuclear
      reactor in 1981, our forces might well have confronted
      a Saddam Hussein armed with nuclear weapons in 1991.


An economic partnership.  Israel's greatest resource has always been the genius
of its people, and America has always benefitted from that genius.  In 1991,
American exports to Israel totalled $3.3 billion, and over the next five years
Israel is expected to purchase as much as $30 billion in American goods --
provided needed benefits and jobs to the American economy.

    o Together, our two nations will create a Joint American-
      Israeli High-Tech Commission to work on research and
      development of the technologies of the twenty-first Century.


Against the arms race.  We learned from Saddam's conquest of Kuwait that
missles and military dictators are a dangerous combination.  It is time we
became a leader in the effort to rein in the dangerous poliferation not only of
weapons of mass destruction, but of conventional arsenals as well.

    o We need to aid Israel's defense against these dangerous
      weapons by ensuring the completion of the Arrow anti-
      ballistic missle.

    o We need an Adminstration that will produce action, not
      just promises to stop the spread of dangerous missles
      in the Middle East.  We need a strong international
      effort and tough sanctions to keep weapons of mass
      destruction out of the hands of tyrants like those in
      Iran, Iraq and Libya.

               ------------- End of Transmission -----------

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| Aaron D. Schmiedel            |  All my opinions represent what is right  |
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