President Bush does something I agree with... and he gets yelled at for it. His crime? He told Israel that their attack on a leader of Hamas wasn't going to help Israel's security. Yes, it's unfair to tell them they can't do preemptive attacks when we can... but we shouldn't be doing it either (especially if we can't back up our story afterwards.)
Anyway, an excerpt from the story...
Reflecting dismay that a new round of violence might undermine the spirit achieved in Aqaba and Sharm el Sheik, Mr. Bush said the attack on the Hamas leader would not help Israel's security. His statement drew fire from those saying that Israel had carried out the attacks to defend itself, just as the United States has done.Representative Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat, said Israel's use of military force to protect itself against "a ticking time bomb factory" was "100 percent justified."
Representative Tom Lantos of California, the ranking Democrat on the International Relations Committee, defended Israel's right to protect itself, saying that the Palestinian Authority under Mr. Abbas was unable to do the job. If the Palestinians will not disarm terrorists, "then Israel clearly will do so," he said.
"We would do so," he continued. "Any self-respecting society will do so. People in government have to defend their citizens."
--> www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/ international/middleeast/12DIPL.html
