Jeff Bingaman: “I strongly agree with the main thrust of the amendment as I understand it; that is, the United States has a historically…”

“I strongly agree with the main thrust of the amendment as I understand it; that is, the United States has a historically unique relationship with Israel; that we condemn violence; that we condemn terrorist attacks; that we condemn the loss of innocent lives of Israeli citizens; and we vigorously support efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East. I have a couple of concerns that I want to raise, concerns with the language of the amendment. The first concern is that the language implies--or can be read to imply--a blanket support for any and all actions that Israel may choose to take in this fight against terrorism. In my view, our President was right when he called upon Ariel Sharon to immediately withdraw troops and Israeli forces from Palestinian territories.”