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Friday March 16, 2007

Olmert calls for backing of Iraq war

by ron kampeas
jta

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on AIPAC to back a continued U.S. presence in Iraq.

“When America succeeds in Iraq, Israel is safer,” Olmert said in a live satellite address late Monday, March 12 from Jerusalem to 6,000 delegates attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference in Washington.

“The friends of Israel know it, the friends who care about Israel know it,” he said.

“President George W. Bush is the only leader, and the United States is the only country, that can be of enormous influence on what the Iranians will do. They are the only ones that can confront effectively the aggressiveness of the Iranians in their plans to build up nuclear capacity.

“I know that all of you, friends of the state of Israel, well-wishers of the state of Israel, all of you who are concerned about the security and the future of the state of Israel, understand the importance of strong American leadership addressing the Iranian threat, and I am sure you will not hamper or restrain that strong leadership unnecessarily,” he added.

Delegates greeted Olmert’s repeated entreaties, delivered from the living room of his home at 4 a.m. Israel time, with polite applause.

However, Democrats at the AIPAC meeting said they were stunned by what they considered Israeli intervention in the U.S. political process.

They weren’t the only ones upset. Officials close to Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who attended the event and gave a closed-door briefing, said he felt Olmert had crossed a line.

Peretz believes Israelis “should not interfere in a democratic process, especially in a country where there is such sensitivity about the democratic process,” the officials said.

AIPAC’s spokesman was circumspect. The organization sees the Iran issue “differently” than Olmert does, said Josh Block.

“We’re interested in ensuring that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons by ensuring that every sanction is used.”

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