Nick Rahall: “I support the state of Israel. I do not support the brutal humiliating policies of Ariel Sharon. I support a strong…”

“I support the state of Israel. I do not support the brutal humiliating policies of Ariel Sharon. I support a strong relationship with Israel. That is not the issue here today. I support Israel being our ally. That is not the issue here today. Yes, Israel is our ally. Yes, we have had, we have today, and we will continue to have a strong relationship with Israel. But, by golly, we need other allies in the region as well. What about the moderate Arab allies that want to help us, to whom we only cast further embarrassment today by the passage of these one-sided resolutions? Let us not shut the door on those in the region who want to help us pressure Arafat to stop approving of these heinous acts of terrorism against civilians. Let us not shut the door on those allies of ours around the world, including the European Union, who want to help us, who want to help Israel stop these brutal acts against innocent civilians. And I deplore them as much as the next person. There are those in the region that want to be our friends. Let us look at America's interests, number one.”