By Joel Magalnick, JTNews Correspondent
During his visit to Seattle in late May, the Jewish Transcript had the opportunity to speak with Senator and Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman. The following is an excerpt of that interview:
Jewish Transcript: Now that Israel has accepted the road map, do you think that with an implied desire on the part of Israel that only the U.S. help implement the road map it can be successful?
Sen. Lieberman: There’s a long way to go, but look: the good news is that there’s a format that the United States, and the Bush administration is finally engaged in [for] the Middle East…. The Israelis and Palestinians could accept [this format].
The main agreement at this point between Israel and the Palestinians about the road map is the destination, which is peace, and the two-state solution. It is clear that the specific concerns of the road map are not agreed to by the both parties. If I may continue this metaphor, the hopeful question is, and what we’re hopeful about, is that both the Israeli leadership and the Palestinian leadership is prepared to get in the same car, and see — with the help of the United States — they can find their way to the destination. But it’s not going to be according to the timetable or the exact contents of this roadmap.
JT: In two years, if you are president, and the Middle East quagmire has not moved further along, how would you act, based upon today’s situation?
Lieberman: Let’s hope it does move forward, but clearly the first thing that has to happen to begin to rebuild the trust that has been lost as a result of the intifada is that the Palestinian government declare its own war on terrorism, and, as Prime Minister Sharon had said, to make a 100 percent effort to stop the terrorism against Israeli citizens.
Once that happens, then I’m sure the Israeli government will begin to respond to make reciprocal gestures. But that’s the key. We have every reason to want to encourage the new Prime Minister Abbas to take such steps, and in essence to liberate himself from Yasser Arafat, whose role in this whole story has been one of failed leadership.
So I don’t think anyone[can]trust Arafat anymore, and the Israelis obviously don’t trust him.
JT: Do you think that Palestinian leadership would be able to work with you in good faith because you are Jewish? What does that mean for the Arab world as a whole?
Lieberman: Oh yes, I have no doubt. Two things, I think, that — generally speaking — the Palestinians and everybody else in the world will deal with the President of the U.S., whatever his religion or race or nationality or gender.
In other words, the question is, what are the President’s policies? And more specifically, I have a history of communication and meetings with all parties in the Middle East, obviously the Israelis, but also the Palestinians and the leaders of the rest of the Arab world.
I’ve probably visited more Arab leaders and Arab countries than any other candidates except for the President in this cycle.
JT: Switching to domestic policy, what about the Homeland Security Act? How does the passage and implementation of this act make you feel about the direction America is taking?
Lieberman: The most important thing is for Secretary Ridge to be a strong leader and create the kind of coordinated agency [and] defense agency that we wanted it to be when Arlen Specter and I introduced the Homeland Security Act about a month after Sept. 11.
The most urgent need now is for the Bush administration to invest some money in homeland security. They have been very miserly about investing the additional funds we need to protect our security both through the federal department, and to support the local fire fighters and police officers and local health personnel who are really our first line of defense here at home.
We have the strongest military in the world because we invested in it. We’re not going to have the kind of homeland security we need, to give people the sense of security we want them to have again as Americans to live without fear, unless we invest in it, and this administration has totally dropped the ball in that regard.
JT: What would be one of your first acts as president?
Lieberman: Leadership is all about priorities. To me this administration has spent so much on its tax plans that haven’t worked that it’s left very little — hardly anything — that make the other investments that are part of making a safer, better country, and that begins with homeland security, but it also obviously goes to education and healthcare.