Territorial Imperatives
By Geoff Metcalf (04/30/07)
Compromising National Security - "The greatest friend of Truth is time, her greatest enemy is Prejudice, and her constant companion Humility." --Charles Caleb Colton
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Damascus, folding her wicked witch of the west mantle, she presumed to poach in the foreign policy venue which is very clearly not her’s.
Ignoring the administration’s policy of isolating Syria, Nancy presumed to ‘know better’ and sought out the ophthalmologist turned dictator Bashar al-Assad “in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace.” Notwithstanding overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Pelosi has proven not to be one who will allow facts that contradict her preconceived opinions and prejudices or get in the way of a cool photo opportunity.
Pelosi willfully (gleefully) flipped off the administration and her own party's sound council to stroke Assad. So what did she get for her efforts beyond the frequent flyer miles and pictures? What has happened with Syria since Pelosi’s “friendship and hope”?
Nothing good. Nada…zilch...
Syrian judges recently sentenced a Mr. al-Bunni to five years in prison for speaking out about torture and persecution of Assad opponents and founding the Syrian Human Rights Association. Al-Bunni’s crimes were compounded by his having signed the ‘Damascus Declaration,” a potentially suicidal pro-democracy manifesto.
Like the signers of our Declaration of Independence, al-Bunni signed the ‘Damascus Declaration’ “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” His mistake (albeit founded on honor and principle) was that he did what he did in Syria.
In ‘The Price They Paid’ http://www.geoffmetcalf.com/421.html , Gary Hildreth asks “Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.”
Al-Bunni’s fate is yet to be determined beyond his scheduled five years in a Syrian slammer.
Despite Pelosi’s poaching, Assad made it crystal clear nothing will change if he has his way in Syria. To underscore his resolve, the recent bogus parliamentary vote that was staged allowed no independent candidates.
Pelosi’s Syrian prank was by all empirical measure, a total failure. Bertrand Russell once said, “If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his in instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence…”
Reviewing key items on Pelosi’s Syrian wish list we see not only has she failed, but has in fact been a catalyst for escalation:
· There has been a major surge in suicide bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq this month.
· According to U.S. and Iraqi officials, almost all suicide bombers in Iraq are foreigners, and some 80 percent of them pass through Syria.
· The border remains as porous as ever.
· The military wing of Hamas, (headquartered is in Damascus), launched a barrage of rockets and mortar rounds at Israel from Gaza on Tuesday.
· None of the hostages Pelosi said she spoke to Mr. Assad about have been released.
The big problem with offering "friendship" and "hope" to a dictator like Assad is that it will (and has) inevitably be interpreted as acceptance by the United States to the policies of dictatorship. Again, the Neville Chamberlain finesse.
Likewise, the major ‘Jones’ the defeatist democrats are touting of ‘give up in Iraq’ is more sycophant screed ignoring the consequences of their partisan pabulum.
Kane O’Hara once observed, “When the judgment’s weak, the prejudice is strong.” This observation is accurate and non partisan.
BOTH liberal dems and ‘stay the course’ republicans are clinging to their established partisan dogma in spite of facts that contradict their preconceived opinions and prejudices. Both partisan factions flat out refuse to accept any and all facts contrary to the gospel ‘according to them’.
Edward R. Morrow once said, “Everyone is a prisoner of their own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices-just recognize them.”
The problem for our elected leaders is their abject refusal to recognize and/or mitigate their prejudices.
It seems whenever politicians (of any stripe) use foreign policy for political purposes they only succeed in undermining the politics and creating more victims.
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