H142 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 9, 2009 

to be a world-renowned research institution that the State of Texas truly 

needs. They won their bowl game, having not won one in a number of years. 

It’s exciting to see the manner of enthusiasm amongst the alumni and our 

schools. Obviously our schools are 

there to educate, but it really is grand 

for the City of Houston and all of its 

population to celebrate two great winners, Rice University and the University of Houston, who won their bowl 

games, 2008. 

Go forever, Rice and the University 

of Houston. 

f 

HONORING LETTER CARRIER 

RICHARD LEAKE 

(Mr. CONAWAY asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, I 

rise today to acknowledge an outstanding achievement of one of my 

constituents, Mr. Richard Leake of San 

Angelo, Texas. 

Mr. Leake is a long-serving letter 

carrier with the United States Postal 

Service. He was recently inducted into 

the Million Mile Club of the National 

Safety Council in recognition of his 

impossibly good safety record. 

As the name of the award states, Mr. 

Leake has traveled over 1 million miles 

on behalf of the Postal Service and 

done so without causing an accident. 

His dedication to getting the job done 

safely every time sets a standard for 

professionalism and conscientiousness 

that I believe we should all strive for. 

I highlight his accomplishment today 

to remind us that as we take up the 

people’s business in the 111th Congress, 

it is possible for us to do our jobs without running over one another. 

It is a great pleasure to brag on Mr. 

Leake today, and I am proud to represent an outstanding constituent here 

in Washington D.C. On behalf of all the 

residents of District 11 in Texas, I 

would like to congratulate him on a career well done and thank him for making the streets of San Angelo a little 

bit safer. 

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b 1400 

COMMENTS ON THE SITUATION IN 

THE GAZA 

(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) 

Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, today 

I wish to comment on the bloodbath 

occurring in the Gaza. No human being 

can watch this carnage and not be reminded of the festering hatred that 

grows with each successive unleashing 

of violence in Israel, the Gaza, in the 

Palestinian territories that sadly 

rescars that tragic region. 

In voting for the resolution today, I 

want to be clear I did not do so because 

I believe more war or violence is the 

solution to stability. In fact, more war 

will breed more retribution, as history 

surely demonstrates. I voted for the 

resolution because its preamble clearly 

states our goal is supporting the 

Israeli-Palestinian peace process. 

The proportionality of Israel’s response to Hamas’ incessant terrorist 

rocket launches is lamentable. Over 750 

Palestinians have now died, one-third 

of them women and children; there 

have been four Israeli soldiers killed; 

and in the last 7 years three Israeli casualties from the rocket launches from 

the Gaza into Israel. Immediately, 

there is a lack of adequate humanitarian relief from the world community, and for the victims, that is appalling. Two wrongs do not make a 

right. 

My view is, the current administration has left Israel more vulnerable and 

less stable as hatreds grow toward it 

regionally. Our Nation’s reputation, 

too, has been badly damaged globally. 

I would like to enter into the RECORD

today an editorial written by President 

Jimmy Carter called ‘‘The Unnecessary 

War,’’ the only President in the last 3 

decades to achieve real, lasting peace 

in the Middle East. There is a road forward. His life is proof the future of that 

region can be better than the past as 

development replaces war as the common denominator. But that will take 

courage. It will take perseverance. It 

will take more than congressional resolutions. It is why our hopes ride high at 

this moment with the incoming administration of President-elect Barack 

Obama. 

[From the Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2009] 

AN UNNECESSARY WAR

(By Jimmy Carter) 

I know from personal involvement that the 

devastating invasion of Gaza by Israel could 

easily have been avoided. 

After visiting Sderot last April and seeing 

the serious psychological damage caused by 

the rockets that had fallen in that area, my 

wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act 

of terrorism. Although casualties were rare 

(three deaths in seven years), the town was 

traumatized by the unpredictable explosions. 

About 3,000 residents had moved to other 

communities, and the streets, playgrounds 

and shopping centers were almost empty. 

Mayor Eli Moyal assembled a group of citizens in his office to meet us and complained 

that the government of Israel was not stopping the rockets, either through diplomacy 

or military action. 

Knowing that we would soon be seeing 

Hamas leaders from Gaza and also in Damascus, we promised to assess prospects for a 

cease-fire. From Egyptian intelligence chief 

Omar Suleiman, who was negotiating between the Israelis and Hamas, we learned 

that there was a fundamental difference between the two sides. Hamas wanted a comprehensive cease-fire in both the West Bank 

and Gaza, and the Israelis refused to discuss 

anything other than Gaza. 

We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants 

of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food had 

found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was 

on the same scale as in the poorest nations 

in the southern Sahara, with more than half 

of all Palestinian families eating only one 

meal a day. 

Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, claiming that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a ceasefire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not 

attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens. 

After extended discussions with those from 

Gaza, these Hamas leaders also agreed to accept any peace agreement that might be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinian 

Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who 

also heads the PLO, provided it was approved 

by a majority vote of Palestinians in a referendum or by an elected unity government. 

Since we were only observers, and not negotiators, we relayed this information to the 

Egyptians, and they pursued the cease-fire 

proposal. After about a month, the Egyptians and Hamas informed us that all military action by both sides and all rocket firing would stop on June 19, for a period of six 

months, and that humanitarian supplies 

would be restored to the normal level that 

had existed before Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 

(about 700 trucks daily). 

We were unable to confirm this in Jerusalem because of Israel’s unwillingness to 

admit to any negotiations with Hamas, but 

rocket firing was soon stopped and there was 

an increase in supplies of food, water, medicine and fuel. Yet the increase was to an average of about 20 percent of normal levels. 

And this fragile truce was partially broken 

on Nov. 4, when Israel launched an attack in 

Gaza to destroy a defensive tunnel being dug 

by Hamas inside the wall that encloses Gaza. 

On another visit to Syria in mid-December, 

I made an effort for the impending six-month 

deadline to be extended. It was clear that the 

preeminent issue was opening the crossings 

into Gaza. Representatives from the Carter 

Center visited Jerusalem, met with Israeli 

officials and asked if this was possible in exchange for a cessation of rocket fire. The 

Israeli government informally proposed that 

15 percent of normal supplies might be possible if Hamas first stopped all rocket fire 

for 48 hours. This was unacceptable to 

Hamas, and hostilities erupted. 

After 12 days of ‘‘combat,’’ the Israeli Defense Forces reported that more than 1,000 

targets were shelled or bombed. During that 

time, Israel rejected international efforts to 

obtain a cease-fire, with full support from 

Washington. Seventeen mosques, the American International School, many private 

homes and much of the basic infrastructure 

of the small but heavily populated area have 

been destroyed. This includes the systems 

that provide water, electricity and sanitation. Heavy civilian casualties are being reported by courageous medical volunteers 

from many nations, as the fortunate ones operate on the wounded by light from dieselpowered generators. 

The hope is that when further hostilities 

are no longer productive, Israel, Hamas and 

the United States will accept another ceasefire, at which time the rockets will again 

stop and an adequate level of humanitarian 

supplies will be permitted to the surviving 

Palestinians, with the publicized agreement 

monitored by the international community. 

The next possible step: a permanent and 

comprehensive peace. 

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SPECIAL ORDERS 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under 

the Speaker’s announced policy of January 6, 2009, and under a previous order 

of the House, the following Members 

will be recognized for 5 minutes each. 


rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with HOUSE