5.5.13: Our Actions Make Us Who We Are

As for Syria, we're in... With the news of the Israelis hitting the Assad Regime with airstrikes, coupled with the allegations of the use of chemical weapons, the United States is already in the mix.  You can easily see all the signs that it's moving in that direction.  As Andrea Mitchell reported, there are various Arab countries arming different groups within the anti-Assad rebel forces.  Of course, we are going to have to get in on that action and try to swing the balance toward a more moderate entity to take control, however, the reality there is that it's going to get even uglier because once Assad is gone, and he will be, then comes a civil war between the victors. 

Representative Tom Cotton (R-AR) represented the consensus opinion in the House when he said that we should have been arming rebels months ago.  We've created that sort of expectation from countries, especially in the Middle East, that we'll always be involved, at the very least with arm shipments. And it was all but confirmed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today.  At this point, the United States is obligated to get into the fray, but Syria will linger perhaps significantly worse than even Iraq for the United States.  Syria's two main allies are Russia and Iran, both of whom are actively involved with the Syrian civil war, on the side of the Assad Regime, unlike in Iraq.  Arms shipments will facilitate murky results in the end because we'll still have to deal with Russia and Iran on the myriad of known issues for years and years after Syria is settled.

It's obvious that our Cold War relationship with Russia was much better than what we have with them now because during that time both countries motivations were much more predictable.  The United States naively thought that since the Cold War ended that the two countries could now cooperate, but the Putin government never took to that attitude.  The dynamic may have changed but not the sentiment, as far as international relations are concerned; no more evident than in Syria.

With that in mind, the much less turbid tact is the establishment of an internationally coordinated  no-fly zone (also all but confirmed by Senator Leahy), something that the American people can begrudgingly live with as opposed to having 'boots on the ground,' something Jane Harman said there was zero chance of happening. This international effort, most probably spearheaded by the United States, would be better served if simultaneously they would concentrate on the flow of refugees threatening instability in other countries, namely Jordan.

What makes our head hurt when it comes to Syria is the eagerness exhibited by many in the U.S. Congress to become directly involved.  Our only explanation for this is that it plays into the larger sentiment of combating terrorism and making sure Al Qaeda elements do not have a place of sanctuary.  The President, in a clip, confirmed that the Israelis have the right to thwart any attempts by the Assad Regime to ship arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon (surprise: the Russian air defense systems aren't very good).  Congressman Cotton stated that we've gotten off of a war footing when it comes to fighting terrorism and are more in a law enforcement stance, although his example was to say that we haven't put any one into Guantanamo Bay Prison in four years, implying that we should be putting more people in there instead of closing it. The usually intellectually buffoonish Newt Gingrich said that he sees the fight against terrorism as a fifty to seventy year battle.  It's unfortunate (to say the least) that Mr. Cotton can not see that the longer we keep Guantanamo open, the closer we get to Mr. Gingrich's assessment being true.  What upsets us here at this column is the fear that our political leaders show by being so reluctant to bring those prisoners to the United States.  If they're guilty, hold them in this country and don't be afraid - deal with the decisions that you've made or change your thinking.  As Senator Leahy asked, "What are we afraid of?" Later in the program, Mr. Cotton said that Islamic extremists don't attack us for what we do, but who we are.  That's actually the kind of absurd responsibility denial that perpetuates the motivations for terrorist attacks against the United States, here and abroad.

It's our actions that have created self-radicalized terrorists.  We don't appreciate Mr. Giuliani's Monday morning quarterbacking with regard to the Boston bombing as it pertains to the investigation and what we knew beforehand, but he did make a very good point. If the three additional suspects knew that the Tsarnaev brothers were responsible for the bombing before a M.I.T. police officer was shot and killed then they are conspirators.  The stupid teenager excuse doesn't fly.  But, our actions created terrorism and sympathy.  In the case of Fort Hood, we're always skeptical about Mr. Giuliani's hyperbolic facts, but that was certainly a terrorist act inspired by Islamic extremism.

To that end, no one on the program had a good answer as to whether we're safer or not.  "Yes and no," Jane Harmon said, agreeing with Mr. Giuliani that the threats have evolved.  But that answer would be 'no' if you agree with what Wayne LaPierre said in posing the question as to whether Bostonians upon being asked to stay in their homes in the search for the bombing suspects would be safer if they all owned guns.  In that statement Mr. LaPierre was simply pedaling fear, one which the people of Boston wouldn't buy. What he suggested wouldn't make us safer, just more suspicious and dangerous to one another. 

It's this same sort of fear mongering that translates to other aspects of our society and law making, the xenophobic kind that could (will) stifle immigration reform.  Senator Leahy when asked if it would pass, said that he hoped so.  Further pressed by Mr. Gregory about it, he said, "I think so," which is not encouraging.  And we would contend that it is our actions, in fact, that make us who we are so what does it say that a nation of immigrants will have shut the door on inclusiveness? That's not what we do or who we are as Americans.

Americans see a brave move, a lesson in courage and not in fear, and we embrace it.  Just ask Jason Collins.


Round Table 1: Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT); former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani; President and CEO of the Wilson Center, former Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA); and Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR).

Round Table 2: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Democratic Congressman Harold Ford; Editor of the National Review, Rich Lowry; and MSNBC contributor as well as political columnist for the Miami Herald, Joy-Ann Reid.