(White House) Vice President Joe Biden told the Saban Forum in Washington on Saturday night: Our prayers are with the family of Luke Somers, who was murdered by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. It's a potent reminder of what Israelis face every day. I've said before, if there weren't an Israel, we'd have to invent one. We always talk about Israel from this perspective as if we're doing some favor, meeting a moral obligation. But it's so much more than a moral obligation. It's overwhelmingly in the self-interest of the United States of America to have a secure, democratic friend, a strategic partner like Israel. Israel today is the strongest nation in the Middle East. Just because it's strong, just because it's vibrant, just because it is physically capable, does not mean that it's not under siege. Rockets from the southern frontier; Hizbullah in the north; Nusrah and ISIL on the north and east. And looming over everything is Iran and its nuclear program. It's a really tough, tough neighborhood. But for Israel, this tough neighborhood is home. This tough neighborhood is where they live and will live forever. We have an obligation to match the steel and the spine of the people of Israel with an ironclad, nonnegotiable commitment to Israel's physical security. There's absolutely no daylight - none - between us and the Israelis on the question of Israel's security.
2014-12-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive