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Strong Message of Support for Israel At AIPAC Conference

As the Israeli lobby meets in Washington, both US parties are trying to prove they're more pro-Israel than the other, writes Clovis Maksoud.
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is shown on a monitor speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington on March 5, 2012.      REUTERS/Joshua Roberts    (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YWCN

Here we go again.

The US Congress is proposing a new resolution calling on the administration to “support Israel if it were to attack Iran in self defense.” This proposal comes in parallel with the annual conference in Washington of the American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the well-known Israeli lobby which regularly calls for tougher US action against Iran, and ahead of US President Barack Obama’s expected visit to Israel on March 20. The bipartisan move is sponsored by Lindsay Graham, a well-known right-wing Republican senator, and Democrat Roberto Menedez, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The proposed resolution states, “If Israel were compelled to take military action in self defense, the US government should stand with Israel and supply military and diplomatic support.”

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