(Washington Times) William Burns, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, said Tuesday that Israel's settlement activities and the security fence are impediments to implementing President Bush's vision of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel by 2005. But on Capitol Hill, lawmakers criticized the administration's position on the security fence. "The fence is a completely defensive measure. Israel should be applauded for it," said Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat. Rep. Steve Israel, also a New York Democrat, said the administration is "absolutely inconsistent." "Fifteen of the 19 hijackers [on September 11] were from Saudi Arabia. Nobody is talking about withholding aid to the Saudis. Why Israel? It's really the only democratic friend we have in the Middle East."
2003-10-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive