R Paul gets one wrong - P Giraldi

[johnaa]

 http://original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/05/02/ron-paul-gets-one-wrong/ 

  "Ron Paul has been both a model of honesty and consistency in his views, as well as a politician who always puts America and the American people first, but his view of the proper place for the United States embassy in Israel, which he may have justified by reportedlysaying that “The real issue here is not what America wants, but what does Israel want,” assumes that such a decision occurs in a vacuum without any political consequences. If Paul did indeed say that, it is not only morally indefensible but also dead wrong in terms of real U.S. interests. Paul would be, not unlike Miffy Oromney and the other Republicans, allowing Israel to dictate actions by the United States that will have grave consequences for the American people. What is good for the U.S. should be guiding the State Department and the White House in the choice for placement of an embassy in a situation in which there are several options, not necessarily what the Israelis perceive might be best for them.

  "In this case, Israel wants the world to recognize that Jerusalem is its capital, but even countries that have full diplomatic relations with Israel have resisted that demand and kept their embassies in Tel Aviv. No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem, and there are good reasons why that is so.

 snip--> "Under normal circumstances, the placement of an embassy would not raise any issues at all, as Ron Paul correctly notes, but much of Jerusalem has been occupied by Israeli military forces and the overall status of the city is very much in dispute. Israel’s attempt to colonize the Arab neighborhoods that it has seized and its construction of blocs of settlements on the adjacent West Bank to seal the city off from the largely Palestinian areas to the East have been widely condemned. If the United States were to acquiesce in Israel’s unilateral decision to declare Jerusalem part of Israel by moving its embassy, it would convince the Muslim world that American and Israeli foreign policy are indivisible (if there are any remaining doubts over that issue) and would trigger a possibly violent reaction against the move in a number of nations. It would endanger U.S. troops in the region, and it would also make any kind of peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians impossible. This is precisely why the United States has not already shifted the embassy despite numerous pledges by presidential aspirants and Congress to do so: it would be a very bad move for the American people. Every new president figures that out in fairly short order.

  "Paul understandably does not have much use for the United Nations, but he surely has some regard for the body of world opinion that it represents, as that impacts directly on American interests. Israel has been on the receiving end of no fewer than 19 U.N. resolutions between 1967 and 2004 denouncing as illegal its continued military occupation of Jerusalem and its establishment of settlements on Palestinian land. The best known is Resolution 242 in 1967, which declared “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war.” Many more resolutions on the same subject have been vetoed in the Security Council by the United States.

  "I have tremendous respect for Ron Paul and everything he represents, but I would suggest that in this instance he examine the facts and rethink the position he has taken. Israel is not just another country. It is a nation supported by a powerful domestic lobby that has succeeded in manipulating U.S. policy to serve its own interests. As a congressman, Ron Paul knows that firsthand. If Israel wants Washington to declare Jerusalem as its capital, it is not a disinterested move. It will have consequences and could easily inflict serious collateral damage on the United States. I know Ron Paul is a true patriot, so he should look at foreign policy as an instrument for doing what is best for the American people, as the Founders envisioned. Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem would do nothing but harm."