Israel's Self-Defense

ISRAEL'S SELF-DEFENSE

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, on June 25, Hamas terrorists from Gaza carried out a cross-border attack into Israel, killing two soldiers and kidnapping a third. Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon attacked Israeli soldiers, killing three and capturing two. Just yesterday, Hezbollah fired missiles into Israel at a rate of one per minute for a full hour. Rather than using diplomacy to deescalate the situation, Iranian President Ahmadinejad falsely claimed Israel was trying to reoccupy Lebanon and, once again, denied the existence of the Holocaust.

I agree with President Bush when he said yesterday ``The root cause of the problem is Hezbollah.'' President Bush further said that Israel has a right ``to defend herself from terrorist attacks.'' The kidnapped Israeli soldiers need to be released. Hamas and Hezbollah need to turn away from the current path of terror, violence and intimidation. We must stand with Israel in her fight against misguided religious extremism and those who glorify death over life. We must stand with Middle Eastern allies to establish peace.

In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September 11.

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