April 29, 2003 - The Hour Online: Shays urges resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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April 29, 2003 - The Hour Online: Shays urges resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Shays urges resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Caption: RCPV Congressman Chris Shays visiting a school on the West Bank.
Read and comment on this story from The Hour Online that RPCV Congressman Chris Shays says that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the most important issue facing the U.S. and the world. He recently returned from a trip abroad to Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and heard from many people there that are concerned about the welfare of the Palestinians.
During his trip Shays was the first Congressman to visit Iraq, crossing the border from Kuwait against the wishes of the Army and State Department. "I think members of Congress who send people into battle better be willing to go there," said Shays, who described his time in the Peace Corps during the Vietnam War as a way of contentiously objecting to the conflict.
He praised humanitarian aid workers and organizations, such as Westport-based Save the Children. "Save the Children blows me away," he said, because of their willingness to enter in a dangerous area. "And they are chomping at the bit to get in (Iraq)," to deliver aid, Shays said. Non-governmental organizations can help the U.S. rebuild Iraq and should be let into the country as soon as possible to provide relief, he said. Read the story at:
Shays urges peace*
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Shays urges peace
By RYAN FLINN
Hour Staff Writer
NORWALK -- Resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the most important issue facing the U.S. and the world, said U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, at a press briefing Monday morning in Norwalk. The representative has recently returned from a trip abroad to Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, and heard from many people there that are concerned about the welfare of the Palestinians.
"There has to be peace there," Shays said. "It is in our national interest to see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolved." Shays was part of a congressional delegation that traveled to the Middle East between April 11 and 24. Sitting at the end of a long table next to an American flag, with a painting of an American flag behind him, Shays also shared some of the stories, sights and conversations he had with children, students, leaders and others.
"These Palestinian kids -- you just want to hug everyone of them," Shays said. "Most of them said, 'We have obstacles, but we're going to survive.' " What struck Shays most was the poverty of the area, and stories of Jewish settlers' brutality. At first, Shays simply said what he heard had disturbed him and he did not want to talk about it. But when pressed, he told reporters about settlers that would pull Palestinian children out the arms of parents and beat the child against a wall, and other settlers who would go into Palestinian stores and push people and items to the floor. Many Palestinian children have seen parents, brothers, sisters and relatives shot by soldiers, he said.
"There isn't a child on the West Bank or in Gaza that hasn't seen someone killed," Shays said. He hopes to hold congressional hearings on the conflict, and discuss what he saw with his Jewish constituents.
Shays heard similar stories in Iraq, under its former leader, Saddam Hussein. When U.S. soldiers opened the prisons there, they found it full of children. "Why were they full of kids? Because their parents had been killed," Shays said. Soldiers also found gallows for hanging prisoners inside the jails. "This is a regime that when it wanted to empty its prisons held mass executions." When asked if he was concerned for his own safety, he replied that he didn't understand why journalists and humanitarian aid workers were allowed in the area, but congressional representatives were advised against doing so.
"I think members of Congress who send people into battle better be willing to go there," said Shays, who described his time in the Peace Corps during the Vietnam War as a way of contentiously objecting to the conflict.
Shays praised humanitarian aid workers and organizations, such as Westport-based Save the Children.
"Save the Children blows me away," he said, because of their willingness to enter in a dangerous area. "And they are chomping at the bit to get in (Iraq)," to deliver aid, Shays said. Non-governmental organizations can help the U.S. rebuild Iraq and should be let into the country as soon as possible to provide relief, he said.
He believes the U.S. military action in Iraq will be admired from a strategic point of view in the future. He was particularly impressed with the small groups of Special Forces that were able to secure areas in Iraq as large as Connecticut.
"The troops did an off-the-charts job," Shays said. "This will be an operation that will be studied with great amount of awe." In other matters, Shays said he would not release his tax returns, instead saying that all of his office expenses are accounted for, and that he would rather lose an election over the issue than release his tax returns to the public.
Shays voted against an energy bill because he disagreed with a provision to open up a section of the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, known as ANWR. He said he did support another provision in the bill that proposed raising gas mileage rates on automobiles to wean Americans off of their dependence on oil from the Middle East.
He voted for a welfare reform bill that increases the number of recipients each state must have working 40 hour work weeks from 50 percent to 70 percent in 2008. The bill allows 16 hours of the 40-hour work week to be composed of educational training.
On health care, Shays voted for a bill that caps federal medical malpractice "pain and suffering" awards to $250,000; bans patients from bringing lawsuits after three years from an injury or one year after discovery of malpractice; prevents patients from recovering 100 percent of damages from one single party if more than one party is found at fault; caps economic damage awards to either $250,000 or twice the amount of damage, whichever is higher; and requires plaintiffs to show clear and convincing evidence of malicious intent from the defendants.
On the possibility of running for higher office, Shays denied rumors that he was considering a run for governor of Connecticut. He said that current Gov. John G. Rowland may seek another term, or his lieutenant governor, Jodi Rell, may run for the office as well. Shays said he would support each candidate for the position, because he enjoys representing his district of Connecticut, and does not think he would want to run the state. "I have one of the best jobs anyone could possibly have, and I think I'm good at it," he said. Ryan Flinn is the business editor. He can be reached at 354-1047.
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4/28/03
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Fiji; Congress; Iraq
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By Anonymous (ool-44c63f7c.dyn.optonline.net - 68.198.63.124) on Sunday, September 04, 2005 - 3:10 pm: Edit Post |
Can someone answer a quesion for me? During the Vietnam War was Peace Corps service ever considered "alternative service" for conscientious objectors?
And were male Peace Corps Volunteers ever issued draft deferments if they entered the Peace Corps?