Thursday, July 24, 2014

Ted Cruz: 'Political' Flight Ban Is 'Economic Boycott' of Israel




Ted Cruz: 'Political' Flight Ban Is 'Economic Boycott' of Israel
(Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Wednesday, 23 Jul 2014 05:06 PM
By Cathy Burke
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz – accusing President Obama of waging an "economic boycott" of Israel with an FAA ban on U.S. flights there – ramped up his opposition Wednesday night, defiantly declaring he'd hold up dozens of State Department nominees.

Bristling over the cold-shoulder response from the State Department, which dismissed Cruz's assessment of the Federal Aviation Administration moratorium as “ridiculous and offensive,” Cruz vowed to place a procedural hold on the department's diplomatic nominees.

Fifty-eight names are pending before the Senate, including 43 ambassadors, according to Secretary of State John Kerry.

"Serious questions were asked about the nature of a decision that handed Hamas a public relations victory and will cost Israel billions of dollars," the freshman Senator said in a statement on his website.

"The only thing 'offensive' about this situation is how the Obama administration is spurning our allies to embolden our enemies; the only thing 'ridiculous' is the administration's response to basic questions.

"Until the State Department answers my questions, I will hold all State Department nominees."

A Senate Democratic leadership aide told the Huffington Post Cruz's move doesn't mean much.

"Republicans are blocking nearly all nominees already, so this isn't a major change," the aide told the website. "In reality, all Cruz is doing is trying to find an excuse for the GOP's obstruction. They want to force us to waste limited Senate floor time and delay the approval of nominees in a timely manner."

Earlier Wednesday, Cruz blasted the flight ban as a politically driven "economic boycott" that would only hurt Israel and aid its enemies.

"President Obama has just used a federal regulatory agency to launch an economic boycott on Israel in order to try to force our ally to comply with his foreign-policy demands," said Cruz, of Texas, Roll Call reported.

Cruz also says the FAA ban hands Hamas a victory, a criticism voiced Tuesday by Rick Santorum.

"I'm sure they believe they have the security in hand to protect domestic and international airlines, commercial airline flights, and that this is simply a slap in the face of the Israelis and a win for Hamas," the former Pennsylvania Republican senator told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

Cruz said "no one wants to place civilian travelers in harm's way" – particularly after the shoot-down of a Malaysia Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine. But he asked whether the FAA's announcement was in fact "a political decision driven by the White House."

Cruz, a potential contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, said tourism is an $11 billion industry for Israel.

"This FAA flight ban may well represent a crippling blow to a key economic sector [in Israel] through both security concerns and worries that additional bans will down more flights and strand more passengers," Cruz said.

"It hardly matters if or when the ban is lifted. At this point, the damage may already be done."

He also asked, if the FAA decision was based on airline safety, "why was Israel singled out, when flights are still permitted into Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen?"

Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg – who defied the FAA ban and flew to Israel Tuesday night – nevertheless bristled at a question from CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the moratorium was politically motivated.

“Don’t be ridiculous!" Bloomberg snapped. "Why would you think that? It’s an outrage to accuse one of our agencies––by asking the question, you’re implying our government does things for political reasons, and maybe everyone once in a while they do it, but it’s your job to prove it,” Bloomberg lectured. “Just the allegation against our government, I personally take as an offense.”

He added the “tone of the question, of trying to create dissension, it’s insulting to America.”

Cruz's comments also drew the rebuke of State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, NBC News reported.

"It's ridiculous and offensive, quite frankly," she said. "The FAA takes its responsibility very seriously. I will speak for them in that case. They make these decisions based solely on the security and safety of American citizens. For anyone to suggest otherwise is just ridiculous."

Cruz's spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, immediately returned fire, referring to a Hamas claim of the airport's closure as a "great victory" and the "crown of Israel's failure."

"We find the Obama administration's foreign policy to be ridiculous and offensive," Frazier said, Business Insider reported.

"The American people deserve answers to these questions, and Sen. Cruz will continue to press for them."

Ukraine
Viktor F. Yanukovich was the president of the Ukraine, and is a Davis Manafort client.

Note: Richard H. Davis is a managing director for Davis Manafort, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative is Obamacare, and was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago
R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Christopher P. Lu was a litigation associate at Sidley Austin LLP, the White House cabinet secretary for the Barack Obama administration, and is married to Kathryn B. Thomson.
Kathryn B. Thomson is married to Christopher P. Lu, the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation, was a partner at Sidley Austin LLP, and chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Marion C. Blakey was an administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and is a member of the Belizean Grove.
Ann Stock is a member of the Belizean Grove, and the assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of State.
Julie Daum is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Henrietta Holsman Fore is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Davia B. Temin is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Mary Agnes Wilderotter is a member of the Belizean Grove, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee for Economic Development, and the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
T. Allan McArtor is a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and was an administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Kenneth M. Duberstein was a VP for the Committee for Economic Development, and is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Carlos Pascual was a VP for the Brookings Institution (think tank), a U.S. ambassador for the Ukraine, and is a special envoy, international energy affairs, assistant secretary nominee for the U.S. Department of State.
John F. Kerry is the secretary at the U.S. Department of State for the Barack Obama administration, married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, and his brother is Cameron F. Kerry.
Teresa Heinz Kerry is married to John F. Kerry, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Cameron F. Kerry is John F. Kerry’s brother, and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Saban Center for Middle East Policy is a policy center at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Martin S. Indyk was a founding director at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, an assistant secretary & Middle East peace envoy for the U.S. Department of State, a U.S. ambassador for Israel, and is the foreign policy director for the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Haim Saban is a benefactor for the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, a friend of Shimon Peres, the treasurer for the Saban Family Foundation, a board member for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Shimon Peres is a friend of Haim Saban, and the president of Israel.
Saban Family Foundation was a funder for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
Steven Pifer was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a U.S. ambassador for the Ukraine.
Viktor F. Yanukovich was the president of the Ukraine, and is a Davis Manafort client.
Richard H. Davis is a managing director for Davis Manafort, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development.
Donna S. Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare is Barack Obama’s signature policy initiative.



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