Rick Santorum’s take on the Middle East crisis

Anti Palestine talk and military attack on Iran is the general consensus of Republicans as has been evidenced by their open views on the matter. The Middle East issue sometimes even overshadows the fearce debate over Obama’s disputed health care initiative, aka the Obamacare.

According to Ali Younes, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has advocated use of military force against Iran to stop its nuclear program whereas he prefers that US remains neutral in the Palestinian struggle for an independent state in Israel, as the issue is an “internal matter”.

In fact except for Ron Paul, these views have been expressed by other members of the Republican Party as well. Newt Gingrich, another Republican Presidential hopeful went so far as to say “the Palestinians are an invented people”.

Despite a history where Americans fought a war with British for Independence, Santorum’s stand on the issue is quote “These people are there in the state of Israel and it’s up to Israel to decide” unquote. Interestingly, Santorum had difficulty calling the people Palestinians and kept referring to them as “these people”, stressing again that “these people are in Israel”  when countered with the logic of America’s war of Independence that gave rise to the United States of America.

Santorum’s views seem to mirror the Republican and Conservative thinking that Iran’s nuclear program is a threat to United States as well as Israel. While editorials advise against a military strike on Iran, Republicans including Santorum have expressed their concern for Iran’s Arab neighbors in the wake of nuclear empowerment of the nation. According to Santorum, nuclear arms in Iran are likely to prove more dangerous to the neighboring Sunni Muslim population than to United States.

To press home its demand, a Republican congressional delegation held a meeting with France and the Arab nations to increase pressure on Iran to abort its nuclear mission.  Ileana Ross-Lehtinen, the Republican chairman of the House foreign affairs committee stated that purpose of the meeting was to garner support from US allies against the threat that Iran posed for US and Israel.

In their official statement regarding the trip, Ross-Lehtinen and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor stressed on the Arab nations to “stand by Israel, support its right to defend itself and press the Palestinian leadership so that a true lasting peace may be achieved” – a move that did not go down well with radio talk show host Ray Hanania who condemned the Congress visit to the Arab states that sought to seek support for Israel by exploiting the situation in Iran. Hanania likened their actions to that of a thief. Santorum’s narrow minded views were also attached by the talk show host.