Dean called on Washington not to "take sides" in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

WASHINGTON, September 9 (IslamOnline.net) – Former Vermont governor and Democrat Presidential hopeful Howard Dean was grilled by rivals for the White House nomination over statements that Washington should do away with its bias towards Israel and advocate an "evenhanded" policy in the Middle East, reported a leading American newspaper Tuesday, September 9.

Addressing his supporters in New Mexico, Dean underlined that it was not Washington's "place to take sides" in the long-running Middle East conflict, reported the Washington Post.

The Presidential hopeful maintained that the United States would not be able to broker peace between Palestinians and Israelis without adopting neutral position.

"Israel has always been a longtime ally with a special relationship with the United States, but if we are going to bargain by being in the middle of the negotiations then we are going to have to take an evenhanded role," he averred.

Democratic rival Senator Joseph I. Lieberman accused Dean of proposing a major U turn of decades-old unwavering policy of explicitly siding with Israel, said the American daily.

"If this is a well-thought-out position, it's a mistake, and a major break from a half a century of American foreign policy," he said in a statement.

"If it's not, it's very important for Howard Dean, as a candidate for president, to think before he talks."

The Post also quoted another Democratic contender, Senator John F. Kerry, as saying: "It is either because he lacks the foreign policy experience or simply because he is wrong that governor Dean has proposed a radical shift in United States policy towards the Middle East. If the president were to make a remark such as this it would throw an already volatile region into even more turmoil."

"For more than 50 years, the United States has backed Israel as its closest ally in the region, providing the Jewish state with billions of dollars in military and humanitarian aid," wrote the daily.

"Dean does not advocate breaking the U.S.-Israeli alliance, but believes the only way to bring peace to the Middle East is for the president to broker a deal without playing favorites," it added.

Several Democrats expect Dean to pay a dear political price for his remarks, interpreted by several as being anti-Israel.

"Democratic candidates receive a significant amount of money and support from the Jewish community. It would be hard for any Democrat considered unsympathetic toward Israel by Jewish leaders to win the nomination," the Post quoted several party strategists as saying.