CSM letter by James Martin: US Mideast policy should honor rights

http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Letters-to-the-Editor/2012/1231/Readers-Write-Obamacare-should-keep-religious-exemption-narrow.-What-has-Obama-done-for-Palestinians

US Mideast policy should honor rights

I would like to respond to the quote from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas featured on the Dec. 10 Overheard page and the article "Israel 'mows the lawn.' " United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, after the UN made Palestine a nonmember observer state, foretold that when the day's pronouncements fade, the Palestinians will find that their lives haven't changed, and their prospects for peace are diminished. But what have Ms. Rice and President Obama done to really help change Palestinians' lives and their prospects of a durable peace?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declared that Israel would expand its West Bank settlements, which are illegal according to international law. Will Mr. Obama continue to provide support for Israel's West Bank takeover, and will Rice justify Israel's works in the UN? America ought to begin a national discussion about bringing our foreign policy in line with the principles in the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution, rather than the rule "might makes right."

James Martin
Vancouver, Wash.

Preamble to the Constitution