Letter: Carter has it right in his new book

Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2006 | 7:07 a.m.

Thank you for publishing the commentaries from Jimmy Carter and Nevada Rep. Shelley Berkley regarding his new book, "Palestine Peace, Not Apartheid." This is a contribution to the long-needed debate over U.S. foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine.

As Carter has pointed out, this discussion has been off the table for years due to the bitter attacks on authors with the courage to raise the subject. Our one-sided foreign policy favoring Israel has gotten to the point where it has had adverse consequences on the security of Israel as well as the U.S. It has lead to Iran acquiring more influence in the region and diminished the influence of the U.S. and Israel.

The position taken by the administration and most members of Congress is close to the Likud position on the matter, a position more extreme than that which predominates in Israel. A recent editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz addressed the rise of Iran and Israel's security in the following passage:

"What is on the table now is Israel's war of survival against an open threat to destroy it. In the face of this increasingly clear possibility, everyone must unite, including those who believe, justly, that the Israeli occupation of the territories must end quickly and that the Palestinians' suffering undermines Israel's security rather than bolstering it."

This is essentially what Carter is saying in his latest book. It's time to get past the fear of discussing this issue and get the peace program back on track in a way that benefits both Israel and Palestine. This requires a more realistic and evenhanded approach from members of the administration and Congress.

Elwood A. Anderson, Las Vegas