U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, said that she is “proud of my support for the incredibly important alliance between the United States and Israel, first of all because it is the right thing to do, and also because it is very important strategically.” McCaskill, who is seeking re-election in 2012, spoke to members of St. Louisans for Better Government, which supports candidates, regardless of their party affiliation, who believe “a strong Israel is in the interests of a strong United States.” The meeting was hosted in the home of Dr. Carl and Lynn Lyss in Clayton, where many of the meetings of SLBG have taken place for nearly 40 years.

In her remarks, McCaskill said she continues her strong support for the State of Israel, which she said was especially important at a time when there is so much unrest and instability in the Middle East and North Africa.

“Never has it been more clear that Israel is indeed the only true democracy and stable ally of the United States in the Middle East,” she told the SLBG members. Describing the revolutions taking place throughout the Arab world as a “good news/bad news story,” McCaskill said, “the good news is that young people in those nations are rising up to demand more freedom and true democracy to replace the autocratic regimes in the region. The bad news is that after years of autocratic rule, the muscles of democracy in those nations have atrophied. With no moderate elements ready to take power, you can have results like they had when elections were held in Gaza and Hamas ended up winning.”

McCaskill said that as a member of the Senate Contracting Subcommittee she has sought stronger sanctions against the anti-Israel regime in Iran and enforcement of those sanctions. “There are indications that a company called KGL, which does business with our government, has been doing business with Iran, which would be in violation of the sanctions regime against Iran, which I have supported and sponsored. I wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates seeking the facts on this matter and asking that appropriate action be taken if KGL is indeed doing business with Iran.”

The senator, who previously has served as a prosecutor and state auditor, said that “with all the discussion about budget cutting it is important to make sure that foreign aid, including support for Israel’s defense needs is protected. We have made sure Israel gets up to $3.4 billion for its development of a missile interceptor to knock down rockets and missiles from Hezbollah and Hamas. Foreign aid is equal to ‘change you find in the couch’ in the overall budget. If we cut support to dependable allies like Israel, it could cost us more in the long term. It is important that Israel remains able to defend itself.”

Regarding the conflict in Libya, McCaskill said she is “optimistic” that the military mission, now under NATO command with U.S. support, “will achieve its military objective of protecting innocent civilians with the no-fly zone and the political objective of Muammar Qaddafi leaving power.”

Looking towards the situation in Egypt following the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, McCaskill said, “It was wise that the military authorities in Egypt have delayed elections for a period in order to give democratic parties a chance to form, and it is also important that the new government in Egypt after those elections continues to honor the peace treaty with Israel.”

McCaskill describes herself as a “centrist,” pointing to a ranking of senators by the National Journal. “I ranked the 47th most liberal senator and the 48th most conservative. I think that reflects the position of most Missourians.” She added that she has done well among independents, saying that while many independents may have felt the Obama administration had gone too far to the left, the same independents are now alarmed that the Tea Party elements of the Republican Party have gone too far to the right.

“There has been a kind of over-reach by some Republicans who mistook the Republican victories in the November elections for a mandate to move very far to the right. This was a mistaken idea.” She added that despite the media image of bitter enmity between Democrats and Republicans, “the Senate has always been a collegial place,” and that moderates in both parties are working to achieve compromises on the contentious issues of the budget and the national debt. “There is a bipartisan group called the ‘Gang of Six’ who are working very hard to achieve the kind of compromises needed to resolve these issues,” she said.