Rep. Ben Cardin 2207 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Via email
Re: Seek stability in the Middle East, not instability. Speak out against the killing of more than 1,000 Lebanese, and the destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure. Dear Rep. Cardin:
The main focus of this letter is the massive attack by Israel on Lebanon, but I also want to address your views on the Middle East Region especially Iraq and Iran.
Iraq, Iran and the Middle East Region
Mr. Cardin, last week for the first time we appeared on the stage together at a candidate forum. I was disappointed that you misled the audience regarding your record on Iraq. As you know, on the day of the vote regarding the use of force resolution (on which you voted correctly) you voted three times wrongly on amendments that would have sent this issue back to committee for further study on the costs of a war with Iraq and to give UN inspectors more time. Since then you have voted for all funding for Iraq and voted against amendments calling for an exit strategy. Rather than being consistent you have played both sides of the fence on this important issue. No doubt if the war had gone well you would have declared yourself a champion of the war. I hope rather than misleading voters you will be more honest about you record. Further, it is time to stop voting for any further funding for the Iraq occupation unless it is tied to the U.S. military and corporate interests leaving the country.
Regarding Iran, please take the option of military action against Iran off the table. The U.S. should not further destabilize the region with attacks on any more countries. I have been disappointed regarding your support for the military option in Iran when such action would be (1) illegal under international law; (2) counterproductive to bringing stability to the region; and (3) result in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. The goal of U.S. policy should be to make Iran into an ally, not an enemy and the means to that goal should be diplomacy and negotiation not war.
And, regarding Israel, I understand your knee-jerk reaction in support of Israel. In Congress, you have been among the most consistent supporters of anything Israel does and have been rewarded by being one of the top 20 recipients of donations from pro-Israel donors. But you are doing Israel – and the United States – a disservice by your blind support. Israel is more isolated, more hated and anti-Semitism is on the rise. And citizens of the United States are at greater risk as our country becomes more hated around the world for our bias in favor of Israel. The failed strike against Hezbollah shows that Israel cannot expect to live at peace by engaging in extreme violence. It must find a way to settle its differences with its neighbors.
Israel-Lebanon – speak-out against civilian deaths, provide emergency assistance to Lebanon and demand reparations from Israel for its illegal actions.
Since I last wrote you on the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon while there is hope with the new ceasefire, things have gone from bad to worse and it is becoming evident that Israel has no concern for the impact of its actions on innocent civilians in Lebanon. Sadly, you have been silent on the Israeli military slaughter.
You responded to my previous letter with a two sentence comment through the Baltimore Jewish Times: “Ben Cardin firmly believes Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. He's proud to stand with the Israeli people during this difficult time.” This response is inadequate and inaccurate. As you know Israel has done more than “defend itself” – it has engaged in a massive, disproportionate offensive bombardment of Lebanon with the mass killings of civilians. Further, as you know, this cross border incident was not an act of terrorism. It was the capture of two soldiers in an effort to get Israel to release civilians they have been holding since they ended their occupation of most of Lebanon in 2000. Further, the Christian Science Monitor reports:
“Since its withdrawal of occupation forces from southern Lebanon in May 2000, Israel has violated the United Nations-monitored ‘blue line’ on an almost daily basis, according to UN reports. Hizbullah's military doctrine, articulated in the early 1990s, states that it will fire Katyusha rockets into Israel only in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanese civilians or Hizbullah's leadership; this indeed has been the pattern.”
Thus, this was a hostile border due to Israel’s ongoing actions to which Hezbollah responded. Israel used the capture of two soldiers in order to destroy and disable Lebanon.
The extreme reaction by Israel was evidently approved well in advance of the capture of the two soldiers by the United States. According to Seymour Hersh of the New Yorker, this was part of plans for an attack on Iran. The Israel attack, reminiscent of the ‘shock and awe’ campaign in Iraq, was intended to terrorize the civilian population and divide them from Hezbollah’s military actions. The result, not surprisingly, was just the opposite as it brought the Lebanese together against the U.S. and Israel. But it also resulted in the deaths of civilians, removal of civilians from their homes and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
"Since the start of the conflict, Israeli forces have consistently launched artillery and air attacks with limited or dubious military gain but excessive civilian cost. In dozens of attacks, Israeli forces struck an area with no apparent military target. In some cases, the timing and intensity of the attack, the absence of a military target, as well as return strikes on rescuers, suggest that Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians."
Note those last five words “Israeli forces deliberately targeted civilians” In fact more children in Lebanon have been killed than fighters. Do you support Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians? If not, why are you not criticizing Israel for these reckless actions?
Related to this you should oppose the shipment of cluster bombs to Israel by the United States. As Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said: “Harm to civilians is inevitable if Israel uses M26 rockets in Lebanon.” Please take a stand against the killing of civilians by Israel.
And, please do not make the false claim that Hezbollah is using civilians as shields. Human Rights Watch put that egregious lie to rest. Human Rights Watch looked at every military attack from July 12 to July 27 and found not one case of civilians being used as shields saying:
“The Israeli government claims that it targets only Hezbollah, and that fighters from the group are using civilians as human shields, thereby placing them at risk. Human Rights Watch found no cases in which Hezbollah deliberately used civilians as shields to protect them from retaliatory IDF attack. Hezbollah occasionally did store weapons in or near civilian homes and fighters placed rocket launchers within populated areas or near U.N. observers, which are serious violations of the laws of war because they violate the duty to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties. However, those cases do not justify the IDF's extensive use of indiscriminate force which has cost so many civilian lives. In none of the cases of civilian deaths documented in this report is there evidence to suggest that Hezbollah forces or weapons were in or near the area that the IDF targeted during or just prior to the attack.”
Since the HRW report the indiscriminate bombing of civilians has only gotten worse (they stopped their review at 400 deaths, now it is an estimated 1000 civilians killed). Israel has since bombed Christian and Sunni areas where Hezbollah has no connections. Some commentators have suggested that Israel is trying to start a sectarian civil war in Lebanon -- as they tried to do between Hamas and Fatah when Israel started providing arms to Fatah after they lost control of the government in the recent Palestinian elections.
This is a massive high-tech terror war by the Israeli government against an innocent Lebanese people and their livelihood and infrastructure, including:
1. Direct strikes against residential areas, against wheat silos, against highways, water systems, power stations, hospitals, schools, and vehicles fleeing with refugees.
2. Deliberately impeding the rescue of injured people, e.g., bombing ambulances on their way to the hospital, cutting off roads, preventing medical supplies and hospital workers from reaching injured and terrified Lebanese civilians. Doctors Without Borders has been manually carrying materials across the Litani River, after Israel destroyed the last bridge.
3. Direct strikes against rescue workers or injured people; e.g., hitting hospitals, ambulances, medical supplies. Just yesterday Red Cross vehicles were fired on by Israel.
In addition to a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon, there needs to be an immediate international rescue operation Thousands of people are going to die and get sick and injured from the consequences of what Israel has done in Lebanon in the blockade of any entry of supplies. Israel should pay the cost of this rescue operation.
Therefore, in addition to the cease fire, and immediate withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon I urge you to support the funding of urgent relief efforts for the Lebanese people in order to avert further human suffering. U.S. cluster bombs should no longer be provided to Israel. Finally, Israel should be held responsible for the damage it did to the Lebanese infrastructure and pay reparations to Lebanon for their illegal behavior.
Please speak out against the war crimes and state-based terrorism of Israel.
Sincerely,
Kevin B. Zeese
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