Jesse Jackson leads humanitarian peace mission to Middle East

[katinmn]

When the US government refuses to have diplomatic relations with countries with which we have "disagreements" it's time for REAL diplomats to step in and lead. Go Jesse! :) Thank you. :loveya:
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From an email from the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition:

Today, the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. landed in Syria on a Middle East Humanitarian Mission, and issued the following statement:

"We are an ecumenical group in the United States that has been invited to visit the Middle East by religious leaders of that region. We have responded positively to their request, and look forward to meeting with Middle East religious leaders, civic leaders and others. Upon considering their request, we communicated with officials from governments of Syria, Israel and Lebanon. We felt certain that President Assad - given the relationship between Syria, Iran and Hezbollah – could make a contribution toward helping to relieve some of the tensions and appeal to people throughout the region to see the advantage of releasing captives.

Our humanitarian mission has the following purposes:

1)We seek the solidification and expansion of the cease-fire and the introduction of a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon;

2)We will address the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon and Israel brought on the by the recent war;

3)We appeal to all sides to see the advantage of releasing prisoners as a gesture to show the value of taking the quest for security to the next level.

We have had dialogue with the Ambassador from Syria, the chargé d’affaires of Lebanon, and the Israeli Ambassador who are facilitating our meetings with representatives from the region."

Members of the Delgation include Rev. Major Jemison, St. John Missionary Baptist Church, Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Progressive Faith Foundation, Father Raymond Helmick, Theology Department of Boston College, Rev. Grainger Browing, Ebenezer AME Church, Dr. Nazir Khaja, Nina Rawls, and several journalists.

Rainbow/PUSH Staff members on the delegation include James Gomez, Director of International Affairs, Butch Wing, National Political Coordinator, and Shelley Davis, Special Assistant to Rev. Jackson.

The Humanitarian Mission delegation will meet with President Assad in Syria, and religious, civic and political leaders in Syria, Lebanon and Israel this week.

[rodeodance]

1. I wish him well, (Brit Hume rolled his eyes when he commented on this

a few days ago).

[lumpy]

2. Wishing Jesse the best of luck.

May he be as successful as he has been many times in the past.

[Disturbed]

3. Why does Jesse Jackson have more leverage than

the US State Dept.?

[Karenina]

4. Could it be that

despite his human foibles, his commitment to the "Prince of Peace! is real? ;-)

[katinmn]

5. He doesn't, of course. Remember the US government is choosing

isolationism over direct diplomacy.

Iran, Syria, other countries outside the region including N Korea, have requested direct talks with the US but the Bush regime does not want to engage. They'd rather claim all of these people are our enemies and terrorists.

JJ is taking a global view and a humanitarian view and he might just save our asses.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

6. I've been known to roll my eyes

at Ol' Jesse, but you know, sometimes he makes a difference.

Godspeed, Reverend.