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Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
One of the foundations of America's national security policy is and must remain our deep alliance and our friendship with the democratic, Jewish State of Israel. We not only share our deepest values with Israel, but we also enjoy close, mutually beneficial, bilateral cooperation in many fields, including defense, intelligence, homeland security, science, technology and education. And as many have noted, Israel is a stabilizing force, and our alliance with Israel is a force multiplier in a region of great strategic importance to not only Israel but the United States.
In short, the United States' support for Israel advances our own security interests. But every day the threat to the democratic, Jewish State of Israel grows and continues to grow. As the Iranian regime draws closer to obtaining the capabilities for nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them, as that same regime sponsors Hezbollah, Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations, and as the Syrian regime follows in its footsteps in these regards, the goal is very simple: To destroy Israel and the Jewish people, with the United States next.
Madam Speaker, the little fellow from the desert, Ahmadinejad, has denied the Holocaust. He has compared Israel to a ``germ,'' threatened to ``wipe Israel off the map,'' and has spoken of his goal of ``a world without America and Zionism.'' The dictator of Syria has threatened Israel with ``violent resistance.'' Hamas' covenant calls for killing Jews and destroying the nation of Israel. Hezbollah's leader has reportedly stated that ``If the Jews all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide.''
Madam Speaker, we should take these threats from Syria, Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas as serious threats to world stability, and specifically to the nation of Israel. They have backed up these threats with their evil deeds. For the last decade, thousands of rockets and mortars have been fired by Hezbollah from the north and Hamas to the south, sponsored by Iran and Syria with reported aid from the nation of North Korea. Since Israel's defense operations against Hezbollah in 2006, Hezbollah has rapidly rearmed again, thanks to Syria and Iran and North Korea, and reports indicate they now have over 40,000 rockets aimed at Israel.
Recent reports indicate that Syria is providing Hezbollah with long-range missiles that could strike most of Israel, and that some of that weaponry was reportedly manufactured by those folks in North Korea. I would add incidentally that it doesn't help matters when senior administration officials say the United States should build up what they call more moderate elements of Hezbollah. There are no moderate elements of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is not a mainstream political party. They are a blood-thirsty terrorist group. But I digress, Madam Speaker.
To Israel's south, Hamas and other violent militant groups in the Gaza area have fired thousands and thousands of rockets and mortars on civilian targets in southern Israel since 2000, killing, wounding and inflicting deep psychological trauma on Israeli citizens.
Madam Speaker, I doubt if we would long put up with rockets coming from the north of our border and from the south of our border, but the Israelis have to put up with the terror from the north and the south on a constant basis. Since the conclusion of Israel's defensive operation in January 2009, the rockets and mortars have abated, but they have not stopped entirely. In fact, over 200 have been fired in the last 16 months.
To defend the Israeli people, the State of Israel is developing a multi-layered rocket and missile defense system. It is a defense system, not an offensive system. It is called the Iron Dome for short-range threats, the David's Sling for medium- to long-range threats, and the Arrow for long-range ballistic missiles.
But as we know, national security comes at a heavy cost. Israel has a higher ratio of defense spending to gross domestic product and spends more on defense as a percentage of its budget than any developed country. Israel should not bear these costs single-handedly.
Madam Speaker, when Hamas and Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, threaten Israel, they also are threatening us, and we need to respond accordingly. What we should do is stand with Israel just as Israel stands with us, and we should continue to provide Israel with the support it needs to defend itself by addressing and stopping the comprehensive threat posed not only by Hamas and Hezbollah, but their state sponsors, specifically Iran and Syria.
That is why I strongly support H.R. 5327, the United States-Israel Rocket Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act, which authorizes the United States to support Israel with the procurement, maintenance, and sustainment of the Iron Dome system.
I would like to thank my distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Nye) and the ranking member of our Foreign Affairs Committee, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), and Mr. Turner from Ohio for sponsoring this vital legislation. I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation and make the message clear: the United States will stand with Israel and our other allies, and we will stand against our mutual enemies, no matter the cost.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the State of Israel, the nation of Israel, is not a big place. It's a little, bitty country. It's smaller than the State of New Jersey. From north to south, at the longest point, it's 200 miles. East to west, it's 75 miles. And ever since their existence, nations all around them have been wanting to destroy the nation of Israel.
Let there be no mistake about it, Madam Speaker. Israel is our ally. Israel has the absolute right of self-defense, to protect the dignity of its country and to protect its citizens. That is the first duty of every government and of every nation. This resolution helps Israel protect itself and its citizens.
Israel has the absolute right to exist. And it should be known to the world that we will stand with Israel to make sure they have the right to exist. Israel is saying to Hezbollah and Hamas, Syria, Iran, and even North Korea, Leave us alone. That is the right that Israel has, to be left alone in that region.
This resolution also says, Madam Speaker, and reaffirms a statement made 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy when he made the comment in his inaugural address, and I quote, ``Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend and oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This we pledge and much more.''
This resolution, Madam Speaker, reaffirms that commitment by President Kennedy over 50 years ago.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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