Eric Cantor's Defeat, "Guys," an Iraq Briefing and "Klinghoffer"

The True Nature of the Republican Party in 2014

Eric Cantor’s defeat in the Republican primary in his district has cleared the air as to what the Republican Party of 2014 is all about.  Most people recognize that some liberal ideas are good and some conservative ideas also are good.  However, some Republicans feel that the more conservative one can be, the better, and the devil take the hindmost.  And that is exactly what happened to Congressman Cantor. 

  
Newcomer Dave Brat defeated Cantor with Tea Party support.

As G.O.P. majority leader in the House of Representatives, Cantor had to function as part of the Government’s legislative branch.  He sometimes had to take positions which invited compromises (although he may not have made them) in the House as a whole as well as within the confines of his party.  Thus, in doing so, he gave the impression that he really wasn’t as conservative as he possibly might have been, although in my eyes, he certainly was very, very conservative.  But this wasn’t enough for the G.O.P. voters in his district.  They found someone even more conservative than Cantor and with minimal funding, won the primary election with him. 

While many rational and respectable Republicans remain in the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, there are many more who would rather have a Federal Government in our country whose sole function would be to defend the country and do little more, and of course, nothing whatsoever which touched upon socio-economic matters.  Back in 1789, they would have fought the passage of the Constitution and earlier under the Articles of Confederation, they would have barely tolerated the idea of the thirteen colonies working together in any manner.  In 1860, they would have been for secession. 

No, Eric Cantor was not conservative enough for what appears to be the Republican base.  His defeat was an early harbinger of the demise of the G.O.P. as it has been known for the past century and a half. And if Tea Party candidate Chris McDaniel defeats the aging Thad Cochran in the upcoming Mississippi Republican Senate primary runoff election, that will amount to a nail in the Party’s coffin. 

Looking ahead to the 2016 Presidential race, the nomination of Rand Paul or Marco Rubio by the G.O.P. would be still another nail.  That is why some Republicans would prefer Jeb Bush, Chris Christie or even George Romney again.  But these Republicans are susceptible to the same accusation, true or not, of not being conservative enough, the stigma which sunk Eric Cantor.

Jack Lippman

                                                             
Background Briefing on Iraq

Stuff You Should Know

Our understanding of the concept of “nationhood” is not the same as that found elsewhere in the world.  Some have called the United States a “melting pot.”  Other than Native Americans, we all are or are descendant from immigrants.  And that, even with some snobbishness, is accepted as part of our culture.  This is not so elsewhere.  Wars have been fought for centuries throughout Europe and Asia because nations there are unable to be “melting pots.”  Even democratic Czechoslovakia which existed between the two World Wars ultimately split into Czech and Slovak nations.  And now, the Scots want to be their own nation rather than continue as part of the United Kingdom.  So let’s talk about what’s going on in Iraq.   (which I wish more Americans would pronounce as "Ear Ack" rather than "Eye Rack" which should be a quick indication that the speaker doesn't know very much.)

For four centuries the area we call Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire.  Within that Empire, local areas had a good amount of autonomy.  There was a religious tie-in with political and social institutions in different areas and communities.  Marriage, divorce, inheritance laws and education were pretty much left to the religious organizations, including those of Islam, Judaism and Christianity in this vast empire.  This relieved the Ottoman government of a lot of work.  When the Ottoman Empire disappeared at the end of World War One, the Sykes-Picot Treaty carved its remains up into artificial states, nations and protectorates which we now know as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the other states near the Persian Gulf.  But the importance of religion, which was the strongest unifying factor in the region, persisted, overriding these artificial borders.   (All of these places were primarily Islamic and Arab as contrasted to neighboring Iran, which while Islamic, was not Arab.)

All of the borders between these places were artificial.  No national loyalty existed, but like the folks in Czechoslovakia, there was indeed a loyalty to one’s own kind, and that loyalty transcended artificial geographic boundaries.  The only way “nations’ could be held together was through autocratic rule.  To the dismay of the United States, we have learned that “nation-building” was impossible from a democratic standpoint because the “melting pot” concept didn’t exist in this part of the world.  If your neighbor’s family was “different” from yours, it was easier to murder them than to learn to live with them, let alone “melt” with them.

And overlaying all of this, we have the Sunni-Shia split which divided Islam about fourteen centuries ago and persists today.  Briefly, when the Prophet Mohammed died, his son-in-law and cousin, Ali, as his nearest blood relative, claimed leadership of the Faith.  Islam’s religious leaders, however, felt otherwise and believed they should determine the continuing leadership of the Faith.  Believers in Ali were the Shi’ites and those who followed the religious leaders were the Sunni.  And it continues today, but remember, in these regions, there is no dividing line between religious matters and things in the political and social realm.

Okay, so when we left Iraq, after deposing Saddam Hussein, a democratic government was established.  They democratically elected a Shi’a President, and over the years, the Sunnis have felt they were getting the short end of the stick.

When our troops left, Al Queda-like Sunni terrorist groups jumped into this situation, and "ordinary" Sunnis who were dissatisfied with how the government in Baghdad was treating them began to accept the terrorists, even those who were far more extreme than Al Queda itself, as preferable to Iraq's Shi'a dominated government.  

Iran's Involvement and Concerns

One of neighboring Iran’s prime defensive concerns, historically, has been to attempt to be the strongest nation in the region.  Iran is almost entirely Shi’a and was not unhappy with Iraq’s Shi’a dominated government in Baghdad.  They don’t see them as a threat.  A Sunni government, however, would be a threat, so it is in the interest of Iran to put an end to the violent Sunni movement, the “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,” which threatens to depose the Iraqi government.  It should not be ignored that enormous amounts of funding for the “ISIS” movement is coming from Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, which fear Iran’s desire to be the dominant state in the region.

(A corollary to this is Iran's support of Hezbollah in Syria against the rebels in that country who are predominately Sunni.  Although Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian President and a member of the Alawite sect, is not Shi'a, he is not Sunni either and Iran, therefore prefers him to the Sunni rebels and therefore, supports Hezbollah against them.)

 

ISIS is said to be the best-funded and trained terrorist group in the world. They are not a rag-tag group such as those found in Nigeria and elsewhere.

Why the United States is Concerned?

Right now, the United States’ strategy should be aimed at ending the “ISIS” movement but for different reasons than those of Iran.  Should it succeed, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq might shortly become part of a grand terrorist borderless “caliphate,” endangering not only Turkey, Israel and Egypt but the United States and Europe as well.  Remember, nuclear-empowered Pakistan could quickly fall under their domination as well.

Our tactics in destroying “ISIS” should be incremental.  First, we should stop the Sunni Arab states from financing these terrorists, utilizing sanctions if necessary.  Secondly, we should coordinate our efforts to join with Iran in defeating them militarily, despite our differences with that nation.  At least Iran is a nation.   As much cannot be said for some of our existing Sunni friends.  Unlike the South Vietnam and Iraqi armies which threw away their guns and uniforms rather than battle "their own kind," Iran's army is a real one.  

But we must not forget that the enemy of your enemy is not necessarily your friend.  But such an enemy can be “used.”  And in doing so, we may be able to avoid the necessity of putting "boots" on the ground as we did in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, where many lives were lost in attempts to achieve the unattainable.

JL

                                 
                                                        

When Gals become Guys

So the two of us are sitting in a restaurant, finishing what we had ordered.  The waitress comes by, smiles and asks “Can I get you guys anything else?”  Trouble with that is that there was only one guy at the table, me, and the person across from me was female. I wondered then, why can a mixed couple be addressed as “you guys” but never as “you gals,” particularly since there was one of each at the table.  Apparently, “guys” has become a unisex form of address, while “gals” remains strictly female.  I wonder if it is complimentary for a woman in mixed company to be addressed as one of the “guys” or is that a sexist approach, in which her sex is ignored or denied. 

At a recent “business” meeting, at which about 75% of those in attendance were female, a speaker who was a female addressed us as “you guys.”  The women there were not insulted, but if the group has been addressed as “you gals,” the men there would certainly have been.  For some interesting thoughts on this subject, check out

www.alternet.org/story/48527/can_the_term_%22guys%22_refer_to_women_and_girls

Of course, the entire problem could be avoided in restaurants and elsewhere by using the second person plural pronoun “you.” But on the other hand, this might sound less personal and probably cut down on the tips restaurant servers get.

JL

 
                                                                       
Metropolitan Opera's "Death of Klinghoffer" is Worthless Without Historical Perspective

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2014-2015 season includes performances of the opera “The Death of Klinghoffer,” written by composer John Adams.  This is the opera’s first Met performance although it was staged in 1991 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.   The opera chronicles the murder of Leon Klinghoffer by Palestinian terrorists who had seized a cruise ship.  The opera goes to great pains to justify and dramatize the motivations of the terrorists, and is not unsympathetic toward them, to the extent that many consider the work to be anti-Semitic. 

Supporters of the inclusion of “Klinghoffer” in the Met’s repertoire, including Metropolitan General Manager Peter Gelb, justify it from an artistic standpoint.   I disagree.  So long as there is political tension between Israel and the Palestinians, the “historical perspective” needed to view the work objectively and exclusively from an artistic standpoint does not exist.

 

Scene from an earlier production of the opera

 

And the extension of the plight of the Palestinians in Israel to the murder of an American Jew turns the opera from an anti-Israel piece to an anti-Semitic piece.  I will not attend the local “Live at the Met” simulcast of the opera this fall. Many others will, however, throughout the world, and some feel that this is the real purpose of its inclusion in the repertoire, particularly in a Saturday afternoon slot when it will be transmitted worldwide, live, from the Met stage, giving “pleasure” to anti-Semites and Israel haters everywhere.  It is not unimaginable that some of the funding which the Metropolitan Opera receives from wealthy Middle Eastern Arab sources has something to do with this production. 

I plan to see “The Death of Klinghoffer” only after there is a signed treaty between Israel and the Palestinians establishing a peace-loving Palestinian state, only after there is full recognition of the permanent existence of the State of Israel by the Arab world, including the Jihadist groups which, in the opera, are treated so sympathetically and only when terror ceases to be a tool in the Middle East.  Only then can this opera be viewed with “historical perspective.”  Until then, it is not worth seeing, regardless of any supposed artistic merit.

JL 

                                         

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