|
|
November 30, 2001/Kislev 15, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 12
Kyl calls for 'moral clarity'
BARRY COHEN
Editor
For the United States to maintain strong ties with Israel and wage a successful war against terror, Washington must formulate a consistent foreign policy marked by "moral clarity," according to Arizona's Sen. Jon Kyl.
"We have an obligation here in the application of our foreign policy with respect to terrorists, and that means allowing Israel to deal with terrorists in the same way we do," said Kyl. "It's inconsistent to say, on the one hand, 'You're either for us or against us' - there is no compromise with terrorists - and on the other hand, to tell Israel it has to compromise with terrorists."
Kyl disagrees with those who believe the United States should pressure Israel to make deals with those who are "as threatening to Israel as Al Qaida is to the United States."
Since 1994, Kyl has represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives for four terms. Prior to entering politics, he practiced law in the Valley.
On Dec. 2, Kyl, along with Irv Shuman, will be honored at the Jewish National Fund's Tree of Life dinner at the Scottsdale Hilton Resort.
As member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ranking member of its subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information, Kyl stressed that the war against terror is not a zero-sum game.
"We will not have to take civil liberties away to maintain national security," he said.
Civil libertarians are concerned in particular that military tribunals - put into place by President Bush's Nov. 13 executive order - would infringe upon constitutionally protected rights. Kyl said if the tribunals will be used at all, most likely they would be set up in Afghanistan or in foreign countries, "where the terrorists are captured."
"Remember, we're talking about people who are not U. S. citizens, people who are not acting on behalf of a nation state, but are acting as terrorists," he said.
If suspects are captured in Afghanistan, "it does not make sense to bring all these people back here and try them like bank robbers (in civil courts)," he said.
Should suspected terrorists be taken into custody in the United States, "the chances are that the people we round up here are going to subject to our (civil) courts," he said.
But under certain circumstances, military tribunals are preferable to civil courts, he noted, explaining that when suspected terrorists are tried in open civil courts, their cohorts have opportunities to disrupt the trial through "threats, blackmail and other acts of terror in the name of revenge."
In addition, gathering evidence to be used in a civil trial can "compromise sources and methods of intelligence," he added.
Although Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, convicted in the 1995 Oklahoma City federal building attack, as well as those responsible for bombing the World Trade Center in 1983, were successfully tried in civil courts, Kyl said he does not believe all suspected terrorists should be tried in this manner.
"The fact that we pulled something off one time shouldn't necessarily be seen as proof for there being no problems in doing it that way on a large scale," explained Kyl.
He added that citizens should give the president and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft "the benefit of the doubt" as to whether or not military tribunals should be implemented.
Kyl also sits on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He noted that U. S. dependence on foreign oil is a hindrance to maintaining strong ties with Israel.
"If we didn't have to worry where (our) oil is coming from, we would be much freer in our ability to act, and that includes acting on behalf of our friend Israel," said Kyl.
For this reason, exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil and gas is vital to national self-interest, he said.
"The sooner we can get out of having to kowtow to Middle East dictators because we buy crude oil from them, the sooner we're going to be able to stand up and back Israel more strongly than we do today," said Kyl.
The JNF Tree of Life Award Dinner will be preceded by a reception and will include a live auction. Call 602-277-4800.
|
