Kindgo
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Powell to AIPAC: Israeli settlements not part of two-state vision!!
Monday, March 31, 2003 Adar2 27, 5763 Israel Time: 13:09 (GMT+3)
Powell to AIPAC: Israeli settlements not part of
two-state vision
By Haaretz Service and Agencies
WASHINGTON - United States Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday said that settlement activity conducted by Israel was not in line with U.S. President George W. Bush's vision for the Middle East. "Settlement activity by Israel is inconsistent with President Bush's two-state vision," he said.
Addressing the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Powell said that the Palestinians also needed to halt violence against Israel.
Without mentioning the Palestinians specifically, Powell got a standing ovation when he declared there must be "an end of violence as a political tool" against Israel.
Powell also reiterated Washington's tough line on Iran, saying it was time for "the entire international community to insist that Iran end its support for terrorism. "Tehran must stop pursuing weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them," said Powell, while pledging support for "the aspirations of the Iranian people to improve their lives."
"It is time that Iran steps up and announces its opposition to all terror groups that work against the Middle East process," Powell said.
Iran, he added, must stop its support of terrorism against Israel and "Iran must stop its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and the ability to produce them."
Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began, Washington has charged that Syria has been shipping war materiel into Iraq to support Saddam Hussein.
Powell urged Syria on Sunday to abandon its support for "terrorist groups" and the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "Syria... now faces a critical choice," Powell said in a speech to a powerful U.S. Jewish lobby in Washington.
"Syria can continue direct support for terrorist groups and the dying regime of Saddam Hussein, or it can embark on a different and more hopeful course," he said. "Either way, Syria has the responsibility for its choices and for the consequences."
Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. would hold the Syrian government accountable for reported shipments of military equipment, like night vision goggles, from Syria to Iraq.
He also claimed that armed Iraqi Shiite Muslim forces supported by Iran were inside Iraq and warned that they would be considered combatants if they interfered with U.S. or British forces in the country.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/278835.html
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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