Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, December 1987, page 14-15

Other People's Mail

"Gentlemen don't read other people's mail," an idealistic American official exclaimed between World Wars I and II as he abolished US cryptographic counter-intelligence programs. Times change, however, and some letters by or to other people are as informative for our readers as anything we might write ourselves.

Sen. Cranston "Unresponsive" to Queries on USS Liberty

Sen. Alan Cranston: May 27, 1987

June 6, 1987, marked the 20th anniversary of the Israeli attack upon the USS Liberty in which 34 American sailors were killed and another 171 were wounded. There has never been an open, public investigation comparable to the investigation into the attack on the USS Stark.

I ask your office to initiate an investigation into the attack on the USS Liberty

Yours Truly, George B. Green, Oakland, CA

Dear Mr. Green: July 3, 1987

I too am deeply concerned about the situation in the Persian Gulf...

I was one of the three principal sponsors of S. 1327, a bill which prohibits the reflagging of vessels for any of the nations in the Persian Gulf for one year. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee recently passed this legislation by a vote of 11 to 8...

I appreciate your contacting me on this important issue.

Sincerely, Sen. Alan Cranston

Dear Sen. Cranston: August 10, 1987

Two months ago I wrote asking for an investigation into the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, which took place on June 8, 1967, and was comparable, at least, to the then investigation into the attack on the USS Stark. In early July, I received your response, which went on at some length about the reflagging of the Kuwaiti oil tankers. What does a request for a thorough-going investigation into the Israeli sinking of the USS Liberty have to do with reflagging and escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf? Your answer is not only unresponsive, it suggests that on the 211th anniversary of this country's Declaration of Independence, some Americans have not heeded George Washington's admonitions as to the danger of holding passions for foreign countries—in this case, Israel.

Yours Truly, George B. Green, Oakland, CA

Closure of the PLO Office

Senators Carl Levin and Donald Riegle, Jr.: October 27, 1987

I have just had the privilege of reading letters from each of you to some of your constituents in Grand Rapids regarding their objections to the so-called "Anti-terrorism Act of 1987," which proposes to close the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Washington and New York. The State Department has already taken measures seeking to close the Washington Office.

Both of you claim that this bill will prevent the PLO from operating in the United States but at the same time Carl Levin says, "The PLO may distribute any form of informational material in the United States. In addition, any American may belong to or support the organization." Senator Riegle states practically the same argument, but adds, "We can hardly expect other nations to join in sanctions against terrorism when we permit branches of the PLO to continue to operate in the very heart of our most vital urban centers."

What you didn't tell them was the following, reported by Larry Cohler in the Washington Jewish Week on Sept. 17, 1987: "Jewish activists were jubilant over the administration's decision this week to close the Washington office of the PLO. But their success in prodding a deeply divided State Department to take the unprecedented move came at the price of an agreement to forswear support for a congressional campaign to close the PLO's New York office as well. Some 40 Jewish organizations pledged their commitment to that deal at a Monday night meeting in New York that was a key factor in the State Department's willingness to take the plunge."

The above quote comes from the highly regarded Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, published since 1982 by the American Educational Trust, a non-profit foundation incorporated in Washington, DC. Richard H. Curtiss, the chief editor, writes further: "The sordid 'deal' described so accurately above boils down to this: Members of 40 American-Jewish organizations are determined that their fellow American citizens may hear only one side of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute.

He goes on to point out that the majority of Americans today are in favor of a homeland for the Palestinians, and that if they get their way, some day the Israelis are going to have to move out of the West Bank and Gaza. When they do, and Jerusalem is internationalized, the Arab-Israeli dispute will be over and the US taxpayer will once again enjoy a balanced economy because we will not need to send billions to Israel every year.

Senators, I spent more than 20 years living in Iraq and Lebanon. I know many Americans have had the wool pulled over their eyes for many years, but the kind of legislation you are supporting may wake them up, and they will know how they have been taken advantage of by the so-called need to "fight terrorism" when much of the terrorism we faced in Lebanon and in other places was due in large part to US one-sided foreign policy in the Middle East. Wake up, senators!

Sincerely, Margaret Purchase, Grand Rapids, MI