Foreign Policy

The hateful rhetoric and threats from Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who calls for the destruction of Israel, should not be shrugged off.

The House passed H.R. 282 in April and committed to deny the radical regime in Iran to spread their extremist agenda across the globe. The House also expressed its commitment to deny Iran weapons of mass destruction. When the Senate returns from recess, it should pass the same language to send a message that the US will stand against attempts to destabilize the Middle East, and threats to our national security and that of our allies.

Deliberation and inaction have had grave consequences. Time is of the essence.

Hopefully we'll get a border security/immigration conference put together. We're looking at the port security issue. We've done the FEMA issue, for which we'll hopefully get a conference.

Let's get a comprehensive immigration reform this September. We will have severe repercussions if we don't act. Also, we need to have earmark reform. We're going to consider a reform this September that's now separate from lobbying reform.

The hearings on Immigration Reform, which the House Republican leadership
has been conducting, are a farce.

The purpose is not to seek compromise or common ground on immigration
reform or security.  The hearings are a political show road to divide this
Nation and try to maintain an inept Republican majority in Congress.

As cynical as this is, it just confirms that the Republican majority does
not want solutions, it prefers to do nothing.

It's very important to address immigration this year and it is my number one domestic priority. What I am concerned about is that, while Republicans are ostensibly in charge, we have yet to sit down and negotiate a compromise in the conference committee. I find that pretty disconcerting.

Funding the border fence is a partial response and what we need is a comprehensive response. You put up a 300-mile fence, and people are going to come around it or they enter the country legally and overstay, which is where 45 percent of illegal immigration comes from.

We need to deal with the work site verification issue, we need to deal with the border security issue, and we need to deal with a temporary worker program that is not a path to citizenship.

House Republicans have cut and run from one of their top national priorities, as the congressional cafeteria Freedom Fries and Freedom Toast reverted back to their original, unpatriotic nomenclature - French Fries and French Toast.

"Clearly, this turn of events has cast our nation out of the frying pan and into the fire," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "Considering the Republican Party has based its foreign policy and homeland security strategy on the naming of fast-food items, it is shocking that they would waffle on one of their most pressing agenda points."

In March 2003, Congressmen Bob Ney and Walter Jones bravely shoved aside time-wasting issues, such as putting together a realistic plan for victory in Iraq, in order to peel the façade away from a critical threat that was hiding in our midst. Thankfully, these brave, selfless solons led the charge on fried spuds and egg-battered toast and mashed the problem in its tracks.

Now the perils of pommes frites and pain perdu have reared their head once again to chip away at our national character. One can only hope that the Republicans will have the courage to once more grab this hot potato and put the concerns of the American people to rest. We need to send a loud, clear, crisp message to the world. With ketchup.

Last week, when I met with Salva Kiir, the President of Southern Sudan, one of the main concerns he expressed to me was that the sense of urgency the problems in Sudan merit within the international community was disappearing.  He said the appointment of a special envoy to Sudan by the United States could change that perspective.  I could not agree with him more.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick did an excellent job as the government’s point man in Sudan where he helped to forge the peace agreement in Darfur.  However, Zoellick’s recent departure from the State Department has left a huge void and now there is no longer a high-raking State Department official dedicated to working on the complex issues involved in Sudan.

Yesterday, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and I held a press conference on Capitol Hill to call for the administration to fill this void by appointing a special envoy to Sudan.  The president needs a special envoy – who has his full trust and authority – on the ground in Sudan to push the peace process forward in Darfur and bring lasting peace and stability to this war-torn African nation. We need to push the Bush administration until that becomes a reality.

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James Zogby's reflexive condemnation of Israel's actions against Hezbollah and US support for Israel is particularly disheartening because Hezbollah and its prime backer, Iran, are a threat not only to Israel but to Lebanon itself and the entire region.

Where was Zogby when Hezbollah, a terrorist group openly committed to Israel's destruction, was accumulating, via Syria and Iran, 13,000 missiles ready to be launched at Israel? Where was Zogby when UN Security Council resolution 1559, demanding the dismantling of Hezbollah and its replacement in southern Lebanon by the Lebanese army, was never implemented? Where was Zogby when Hezbollah cynically placed its missiles in civilian areas, even in civilian homes, deliberately forcing Israel into a cruel dilemma: defend its people and risk Lebanese civilian casualties or avoid such casualties and letting the Hezbollah rockets fall on Haifa, Tiberias and other Israeli cities. Israel, as the moral, democratic society that it is, tries mightily both to protect its people and minimize Lebanese casualties despite Hezbolah's manipulation. Tragically, that didn't succeed in Qana for which Israel is profoundly sorry.

In the end, though Zogby won't admit it, the Arab world needs an Israeli victory over Hezbollah and Iran as much as Israel and the US. Maybe then, Lebanon can truly become one nation and be rebuilt and the region can begin to change for the better.

The announcement today by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that Iraqi forces will assume security operations for all of the country by the end of this year is good news for Iraq and good news for American families. While U.S.-led coalition forces will remain in support and advisory roles, the rapid advancement of Iraqi forces is evidence of the Iraqi peoples' desire to stand on their own two feet.

Following the positive message Prime Minister al-Maliki delivered to us last week, it is becoming increasingly evident that Iraq will succeed as a democratic country. President Bush is right: Freedom is the permanent hope of mankind.

I think it means that Castro is either already dead or very gravely sick. For them to have transferred power is a very unusual move. Over many years, we have seen Castro disappear for periods of time - never has it been made clear that he is out of it. I don’t know what will be the future of his health, but what we do know is that it is not appropriate for there to be a transfer from one dictator to another. After 47 years of dictatorship, it seems to me it is time for the Cuban people’s voices to be heard. So I hope that this is a moment for that opportunity.