Washington Report: July 2005 Postcard

July 2005 Postcard

Cut and paste html (for emailing your Sen. or Rep.:

DEAR SENATOR:

The Syrian government has been pressed hard recently to comply with U.N. Resolution 520, ending its presence in Lebanon. Syria has complied with the resolution and world pressure, evacuating all of its troops from Lebanon in April of 2005.

While Syria is threatened with military invasion for its occupation of Lebanon, Israel is given military aid. While Syria, a country which allowed U.N. peacekeeping troops into Lebanon, is badmouthed by the U.S. government, Israel, which has consistently refused peacekeeping troops, is praised. While Syria—whose troops originally were invited in by Lebanon’s government in order to help halt the country’s civil war—has ended its 29-year occupation of Lebanon, Israel continues its 38-year occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights, Lebanon’s Cheba Farms and, of course, the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Please show courage and use the weight of your position to apply the same standard to Israel.

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Syrian soldiers wave as they leave Lebanon April 26, 2005 in Masnaa. Lebanese danced with joy and Syrians waved national flags as the last Syrian troops crossed the border back home, ending a 29-year presence in Lebanon (Photo Joseph Barrak).

Violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions was one of the primary components of the U.S. case against Saddam Hussain, and it was the primary justification for the recent pressure put on Syria to remove its troops from Lebanon.

Israel has flouted international law and violated over 32 Security Council resolutions. These are resolutions that were approved by the U.S., and do not count the 39 Security Council resolutions vetoed by the United States to shield Israel from world condemnation. These represent almost 50 percent of the vetoes ever cast by the United States in the history of the U.N.

Instead, Israel continues to receive by far the most U.S. aid of any country in the world. Per capita, Israeli citizens receive more U.S. federal aid than do our country’s own citizens.