McCain Attacks Obama's Support For Israeli Peace Negotiations

So it looks like the McCain campaign is attacking an Obama adviser, and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Kurtzer, for going to an American Bar Association conference in Damascus and calling on the Syrians to make peace with Israel. I guess to the McCain campaign, anyone that calls for peace through negotiations instead of "peace" through war is asking to be attacked. But this seems like a really dumb thing to do for two reasons.

1. If McCain is attacking Kurtzer (and therefore the Obama campaign) for being an appeaser, doesn't that mean that McCain also thinks that the Israelis are Chamberlain-like appeasers? The Israeli government is after all engaged in very public negotiations with Syria. In fact the Israeli military is one of the chief advocates of trying to negotiate a deal with Syria. Additionally, Assad recently had a very public meeting with Sarkozy in Paris.  Does McCain oppose these efforts to negotiate peace? And if so doesn't that once again put him squarely in line with the Bush administration.

2. McCain himself advocated talking to Syria. McCain is forgetting what he said about Colin Powell's trip to Damascus five years ago.  On the Today Show on April 18th 2003 McCain said that despite Syria being a state sponsor of terrorism, he was glad Powell was going there.

LAUER: Let me ask you about Syria.

Mr. McCAIN: Sure.

LAUER: They have denied possessing weapons of mass destruction, they've also denied harboring any senior members of the Iraqi leadership. The US administration says they have evidence to the contrary. How would you proceed with that situation?

Mr. McCAIN: I think it's very appropriate that Colin Powell is going to Syria. I think we should put diplomatic and other pressures on them. It's also a time for Mr. Asad Bashar to realize that he should be more like his father was. I think he's too heavily influenced by a lot of the radical Islamic elements and--and militant groups.

LAUER: Do you think Syria meets the criteria set forth by the president in his post-9/11 address to Congress that they pose an imminent threat to the US in that they are either sponsoring or harboring terrorists?

Mr. McCAIN: I think they're--they're sponsoring and harboring terrorists. I think they have been occupying Lebanon, which should be free and independent for a long time, but I don't think that that means that we will now resort to the military action. We--we can apply a lot of pressure other than military--than the military action. So what I'm saying, we're a long way away from it.

LAUER: Under what circumstances--under what circumstances would you back military action?

Mr. McCAIN: When we've exhausted all other options. And we have a lot of options to--to exercise.  And I'm glad Colin Powell's going there, but the Syrians have got to understand there's a new day in the Middle East.

Comments

[Fein]

'Peace' is considered 'bad business' by the Republican party and McCain will oppose any initiative
that promotes it.

Unless the Republican Party are all voted out of office, it's only a question of where the next War for
Profit will be.

[CharlesJ]

What the hell is wrong with Peace Mr McCain? Peace even if you must give concessions to obtain it is far better than war where thousands of innocent men, women and children will die. Are you that far gone that your mind can not grasp peace and love for all people? Is your mind so warped that all you can conceive of is killing people and fighting wars? Your a sick, demented and ugly spirited man if you condem negociated peace, you need to go see a doctor and get on some medication!

[BethStuart]

I think it's important to remember that the "new" John McCain (unlike the old John McCain of 5 years ago) is now marching in lockstep with the neo-cons who are against any negotiations with Syria whether by Israel or by the U.S.)

The position of Sheldon Adelson, founder of Freedoms Watch, and multi-billionaire (reported net worth of $26 billion from casinos worldwide) is that there should be no negotiations of any kind. See the recent article about him in the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_bruck

[CeciliaBertrand]

Are Republicans following this guy? I know the media isn't - but surely some Republicans read and write and follow the NEWS (online) on their own.

[UrbanInterloper]

Maybe he's opposed to all peace negotiations under any circumstance, or would like to give that impression in order to appease Christian Zionists like Hagee, who view the peace process as inherently evil because it conflicts with a warped end times philosophy.

Just a thought.

[Strywever]

And then, when a reporter on a media conference call pushed back on McCain's campaign staff about the apparent hypocrisy, he was dropped from the call. Welcome to McBush world.

[MrTessier]

What were McCain's comments that attacked the advisor? It's rather difficult to make the point that McCain is wrong without including them.

[kristycu]

if you click on the bar association link down toward the bottom of that page you will see what they said

[KSH]

McCain is just a ball of hypocrisy. Everyday he says something that contradicts what he said.