It was with great disappointment that we read the full page advertisement of the Republican National Committee in the August 18 JTNews. The advertisement touts the defeat of Joseph Lieberman in the Democratic primary in Connecticut as a defeat for those who support the State of Israel and seek a secure and lasting peace in the Middle East. Nothing could be further from the truth. The incumbent lost the race not because of his support for Israel, but because he strongly backed the failed Bush Administration?s Iraq policy.

It?s been said that the definition of insanity is to continue to do the same thing and expect different results. For over three years we?ve unilaterally tried to pacify and democratize Iraq. It is obvious that our efforts are not working. Instead, our leadership position in the world has diminished, our soldiers are being killed and wounded, and our valuable tax dollars are being drained to the tune of billions of dollars every week. Wouldn?t those dollars be better invested in fighting the real sources of terror, educating our youth and caring for our needy? Voting against this Republican-led policy is not an expression of hostility towards Israel. To suggest otherwise is a cynical distortion of the truth.

It is the Bush/Cheney administration which has failed miserably to lead our county away from our dependency on Middle Eastern oil. Instead of requiring modest, achievable increases in automobile gas mileage, the Republican oil-philes continue to push for more drilling, while cutting research dollars for alternative energy sources. Republican energy policies are enriching the coffers of the nations which most aggressively fund terrorism against Israel and the U.S., Iran and Saudi Arabia. As this is written, Hezbollah is handing out millions of dollars in oil money to buy the cooperation of the Lebanese in its jihad against Israel.

We view it as a sign of desperation that the party that has brought us record budget deficits after years of surpluses and prosperity, a foreign policy and military disaster in Iraq, and impotence in the face of Iran, is resorting to such distortions. Karl Rove?s fingerprints abound.

Rob Spitzer

Andrew Benjamin

Seattle