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.
No comments:
Post a Comment