Reply #10: Kerry's floor speech on Iraq today also spoke of the ME

[karynnj]

It dealt with what needs to be done - it is most definitely not Bush, Rice or PNAC. Unlike Hagel's comment it is more long term.

"Mr. President, even as we consider the way forward in Iraq, we must not lose sight of the war raging on the other side of the Middle East in Lebanon and Israel. Watching the news from the Mideast these days is an exercise in continual heartbreak. As Israel continues military operations to defend itself against the grave threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon and missiles still rain on innocents in northern Israel, our hearts go out to people suffering all across the Mideast.



We all want peace, and the death of every child—Lebanese in Qana or Israeli in Haifa—is an unspeakable tragedy. But we know from the hard lessons of the past that lasting peace will not come easily – and it will not come without the type of sustained involvement at the highest levels of the U.S. government that we have not seen from this Administration.



In fact, the violence we are seeing now is in part the bitter fruit of years of U.S. neglect in the region, yet another disastrous byproduct of being distracted and bogged down in Iraq. Our inattention to diplomacy and failure to disarm Hezbollah and stop the flow of weapons from Iran and Syria -- as required by UN Resolution 1559 -- left Israel to respond to this terrorist organization’s provocations with a bloody war that threatens to spread into a larger regional conflict. In fact, just a few hours ago General Abizaid testified that if that Resolution 1559 had been fully implemented, we wouldn’t be in this situation today. And it’s clear that our compromised position in Iraq, combined with our diplomatic isolation in the region, has reduced our leverage and undermined our ability to bring about the lasting resolution that is so desperately needed.



Make no mistake about it: Israel has every right to defend itself against these terrorists. The people of Israel can count on the stalwart support of the United States during these difficult times. At the same time, the Lebanese people must know that Americans also care deeply about protecting innocent civilians and preserving their fragile democracy.



That’s why we must work urgently to achieve a viable and sustainable peace agreement that includes an international force capable of ensuring Israel's security and Lebanon’s complete territorial sovereignty, the return of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and the permanent removal of the threat posed by Hezbollah. Given the dire circumstances, it’s imperative that we do everything in our power to accomplish this as soon as possible – and we shouldn’t be afraid of talking to any country that will help us advance this objective.



But that cannot be the end of our involvement – in fact, it must be the beginning of a new era of sustained diplomatic engagement in the region. The unmistakable lesson here is that we need more much than just crisis diplomacy – we need preventive diplomacy that addresses the underlying problems before they explode. That means putting an end – once and for all – to state sponsorship of terrorism by Iran and Syria. And that requires a renewed commitment to work ceaselessly to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East. "