USA/ISRAEL

Rivals Criticize Dean For Mideast
By Jim VandeHei Washington Post Staff Writer
washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, September 9, 2003; Page A02

Howard Dean came under fire yesterday from two rivals for the
Democratic nomination for saying the United States should not "take sides" in the
Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Five days after Dean told supporters in
New Mexico that "it's not our place to take sides" in the conflict, Sen.
Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) accused him of advocating a "major break" from the
United States' long-standing policy of explicitly siding with Israel in
the Middle East.

"If this is a well-thought-out position, it's a mistake, and a major
break from a half a century of American foreign policy," Lieberman said in a
statement. "If it's not, it's very important for Howard Dean, as a
candidate for president, to think before he talks."

Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) said: "It is either because he lacks the
foreign policy experience or simply because he is wrong that governor Dean has
proposed a radical shift in United States policy towards the Middle
East. If the president were to make a remark such as this it would throw an
already volatile region into even more turmoil."

In an interview, Dean sought to clarify his statement but did not back
down from his belief that the United State cannot negotiate peace unless it
is seen as a neutral party in the region. "Israel has always been a
longtime ally with a special relationship with the United States, but if we are
going to bargain by being in the middle of the negotiations then we are
going to have to take an evenhanded role," he said.

For more than 50 years, the United States has backed Israel as its
closest ally in the region, providing the Jewish state with billions of dollars
in military and humanitarian aid. Dean does not advocate breaking the
U.S.-Israeli alliance, but believes the only way to bring peace to the
Middle East is for the president to broker a deal without playing
favorites. A top Dean adviser said the former Vermont governor is doing
nothing different from what President Bill Clinton did when he reached
out to Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians as a path to peace.

Several Democrats predicted Dean would pay a political price for his
remarks. Democratic candidates receive a significant amount of money
and support from the Jewish community. It would be hard for any Democrat
considered unsympathetic toward Israel by Jewish leaders to win the
nomination, several party strategists said.