Chairman Berman Reluctant to "Jump Into Wars" -- What About Israel's Wars?

Reacting to President Obama's decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) declared, "I'm not as prone to jumping into wars as I used to be."

It's a good sentiment. The less prone we are to "jumping into wars," the better off we'll all be. For the record, however, it needs to be noted that the President is not exactly "jumping into" Afghanistan. Right-wingers are criticizing him not for expanding the war, but for doing it with no enthusiasm. But that is to his credit. Unlike President Obama's predecessor, no President should ever be excited about sending US troops to war.

But I have some questions for Howard Berman, Jane Harman (D-CA) and other Iraq and Iran hawks who have suddenly gone dovish.

Are you going to apply this reluctance to Israel's wars or will you still rush to the floor to defend horrific wars like Gaza? Are you going to keep arguing that Israel (and the US) should keep "all options" (most significantly a military strike) on the table when it comes to Iran? Will your caution in supporting our President extend to prime ministers of Israel?

I ask that because it strikes a rather false note when the same people who express serious doubts about Afghanistan not only had none about Gaza but engaged in nasty and ugly attacks on Judge Richard Goldstone for finding that Israel committed war crimes there.

Progressives and liberals need to start asking our vocal supporters of diplomacy over war if they will apply that worthy standard to Israel as well as to the United States. For my money, if you express reservations about Afghanistan (as you should), you should also have joined the bravest of your colleagues who condemned Israel's brutal treatment of the Palestinians, a war that took 1,400 Palestinian lives (including 320 children) versus nine Israelis, and the blockade of Gaza and the forced removal of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. 

I won't hold my breath.