From the WSJ Opinion Archives
Slinging
Hash
Just for fun, consider the following conspiracy theory: When three far-left Democratic
congressmen, including Washington state's Jim McDermott and Michigan's David Bonior,
traveled to Baghdad last week as part of an Iraqi propaganda campaign, maybe they
were really in cahoots with the White House in an effort to boost Democratic
support for the resolution authorizing war against Saddam Hussein's regime.
That wasn't really their intent, of course, but it does seem to have been the effect. And it's not hard to see why. It's one thing to oppose the president--legislators do that all the time in a democracy, even on matters of national security. It's quite another to side with McDermott and Bonior, when they're siding with Saddam Hussein.
The Washington Times and the Boston Globe look at how President Bush won what now seems certain support from enough Democrats to pass the war resolution easily. "The White House engaged in a divide-and-conquer strategy with congressional Democrats that isolated Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle," the Times says. While Daschle straddled the fence, the White House sought out the support of Rep. Dick Gephardt, the Democratic House leader, and Sens. Trent Lott and John McCain wooed their Democratic colleagues, notably Joe Lieberman, who's signed as a sponsor of the resolution.
The Globe reports that some Democrats are riled at Gephardt for supporting the president on Iraq. ''Members are saying it was kind of a shock to see the display of unity on the White House lawn, when so many of us are still grappling'' with the issue, says Rep. Jose Serrano of New York. Another Democratic lawmaker "reported there was 'a lot of anger' " at Gephardt. "The word 'sell-out' was used," the lawmaker added. And who is this courageous leader? Beats us. The Globe describes him as "requesting anonymity."
The Times piece carries a quote that validates our conspiracy theory: "The 'Baghdad Boys' may have pushed along Gephardt a little quicker than he wanted to," says GOP strategist Scott Reed.
The Baghdad Boys also exaggerated their own military experience--or, to be precise, McDermott did it for both of them. Consider this exchange from their notorious interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos:
Stephanopoulos: Mr. McDermott, before you left for Baghdad, you said the president of the United States will lie to the American people in order to get us into this war. Do you really believe that?
McDermott: I believe that sometimes they give out misinformation. Lyndon Johnson did it in the Vietnam War. Both David and I were in that war, and there was no Gulf of Tonkin incident.
Hold it right there. Were McDermott and Bonior in "that war"? An Associated Press dispatch today describes them as "Vietnam-era veterans," which is a bit of a dodge, since it describes when but not where they served. Visits to both men's Web sites show that they did indeed serve--in California. McDermott was chief psychiatrist at the Long Beach Naval Station in 1968-70; Bonior "joined the Air Force and was stationed in California. There he worked as a cook, slinging hash."
We don't mean to disparage McDermott's and Bonior's service to the country; military men who serve stateside are every bit as honorable as those who see combat. Nor do we accept the notion that military service is a prerequisite for holding opinions on matters of war and peace. But McDermott and Bonior at least ought to be honest if they're going to cite their military service as a credential while slinging hash on Saddam's behalf.
You
Don't Say--I
"Clinton: Innocents Will Die in Iraq War"--headline, (London) Mirror,
Oct. 3
Does
the U.N. Matter?
While both the U.S. and Britain solidly support the liberation of Iraq, the
other three permanent members of the U.N. Security Council--France, Russia and
China--are hemming and hawing. "China is unlikely to block any US and British-sponsored
resolution," the BBC reports. "But it may support an alternative motion,
proposed by France, delaying any threat of military action until the UN weapons
inspectors have completed their task or been prevented from doing so."
The Russians, meanwhile, say they reject, in the BBC's words, "any mention
in the draft resolution of the automatic use of force."
This is all a bit of a sideshow, though. President Bush told the U.N. last month that America will act if the Security Council doesn't, and that policy will be codified into law once Congress has passed its resolution. France, Russia and China have the power veto U.N. resolutions authorizing military action, but to do so would be merely to ratify their own irrelevance. The Onion "reports" that "President Bush called upon the international community to support his 'U.S. Does Whatever It Wants' plan, which would permit the U.S. to take any action it wishes anywhere in the world at any time." Like much that appears there, it's funny because it's true.
Smearing
Saddam?
"As the United States threatens war against Iraq, the administration has
sought to play up reports of those [al Qaeda] contacts to further vilify Mr.
Hussein."--Elisabeth Bumiller and Alison Mitchell, New York Times, Oct. 3
Does the New York Times really think the administration is "vilifying"--that is, slandering--Saddam Hussein?
"The White House is right that Iraq is by far the most repressive country in the entire Middle East--but that's true only if you're a man. . . . As we invade Iraq for its barbaric and repressive ways, our allies in the Muslim world should feel deeply embarrassed that a rogue state offers women more equality than they do."--Nicholas Kristof, New York Times, Oct. 1, 2002
"Saddam also has a taste for virgins--who, among other desirable qualities, are thought to be less disease-prone. In one anecdote related by Hamza, a young woman who pleaded with the president for aid after the death of her father ended up losing her virginity after having been given a beauty makeover and left naked on a bed to await his (wordless) pleasure. Although she was let go with an envelope of money, other 'young, beautiful, and flirtatious' women who have serviced Saddam find themselves retained as virtual slaves to clean the apartments of his nomenklatura. Or else not retained at all; Hamza tells of one who was discovered in a bathtub with her throat slit."--Daniel Pipes, reviewing "Saddam's Bombmaker" by Khidhir Hamza, Commentary, July 2001
Elsewhere
Around the Axis
"Media heads face prosecution in Iran over a ground-breaking opinion poll
on mending relations with the United States," the BBC reports. "The
conservative judiciary has shut down a state-run polling institute and is taking
both its director and the head of the state news agency Irna--which published
the poll--to court." Among the poll's findings: "74% of respondents
over the age of 15 support dialogue with the US," and "45.8% believe
Washington's policy on Iran is 'to some extent correct.' "
The Associated Press has a photo of a North Korean propaganda poster, which shows three red missiles heading toward a crumbling U.S. Capitol Building, with a tattered American flag in the foreground. The AP translates the poster's text: ''If someone starts an invasion war, we will crush the U.S. bastards first.''
You
Don't Say--II
"Commentary: North Korean Reforms Illusory"--headline, United Press
International, Oct. 1
These
Boots Weren't Made for Walking
"Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday rejected a bid by Richard C.
Reid to plead guilty to attempting to blow up a commercial airliner in exchange
for an agreement to drop charges that he was an al Qaeda-trained terrorist,"
the Washington Times reports. Reid, who allegedly tried to light a bomb in his
shoe last Christmas Eve, is to go to trial Nov. 4.
Our
Friends the Egyptians
Arutz Sheva picks up an interesting commentary in the Egyptian newspaper al
Ra'yi: "Had it known that the US intended to remain in the Gulf, and that
it would use the war for the liberation of Kuwait in 1991 as a pretext to exercise
control over the region, Egypt would never have taken part in the international
coalition formed against Iraq. It is obvious at present that the US prepares
for war this time in order to serve the interests of Israel as well as to take
hold of Iraqs enormous oil wealth. Egypt is here urged to adopt a clear stance,
indeed to strive to create an Arab coalition in support of Iraq."
Meanwhile, the Middle East Media Research Institute reports Egypt has disbanded a group called the Cairo Association for Peace, which favored normalization of relations with Israel. An Egyptian newspaper story, translated by Memri, explains: "The report states that conducting research, holding conferences and scientific conventions to disseminate the culture of peace in the full meaning of the term, and the exchange of visits with similar groups from Israel are not considered cultural, scientific, or religious services for which the association was established, in accordance with the sense set out by law."
Our
Friends the Saudis
A new book by Clinton administration counterterrorism officials Daniel Benjamin
and Steven Simon has some interesting details about the U.S.-Saudi relationship,
the Washington Post reports:
Louis J. Freeh, the FBI director, is depicted in the book as a man blinded by animus toward Clinton and manipulated by dishonest reports from a Saudi diplomat who sought to deepen Freeh's rift with the White House. Benjamin and Simon write that Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, falsely told Freeh that Clinton's political appointees wanted to soft-pedal any Iranian role in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers, a U.S. military barracks. In fact, the authors write, it was the Saudis who feared arousing their powerful neighbor. Bandar, they write, "played Iago to Freeh's Othello, seeking to sow dissension" among the Americans to divert them from asking hard questions of the Saudi government.
McKinney
Blames Indian Givers
On the eve of Rep. Cynthia McKinney's primary defeat, her father, state Rep.
Billy McKinney, blamed his daughter's electoral troubles on, as he put it, "J-E-W-S."
Now Cynthia says the H-I-N-D-U-S are to blame. In a speech on the House floor,
which Little
Green Footballs first noted, McKinney declared:
Earlier this year, I was one of 42 Members of Congress who wrote to President Bush to urge the release of Sikh and other political prisoners in India.
Apparently, this irritated the Indians because the newspaper article I am inserting in the Record along with this statement shows that they admitted that they invested heavily in the effort to defeat me. To my colleagues of both parties who have also been involved in the effort to expose India's brutal record, I say: Watch out; they are coming after you, too.
We hope the McKinneys find a way to blame the Zoroastrians for their losses (Billy lost his seat in a runoff). It's not that we have any brief for or against the Zoroastrians; we'd just like to see Billy and Cynthia try to spell it.
Quindlen
Blames Baseball
Newsweek's Anna Quindlen analyzes the reasons behind the impending war in Iraq:
From the beginning this drumbeat toward war has been seasoned liberally with electoral politics and marinated in oil. (Never forget which industry made the president and vice president rich before the political industry made them famous.)
Remember which industry made the president rich? Aha, that's it! Major League Baseball is to blame!
Gore
Is Back, Bigger Than Ever
"Al Gore urged President Bush on Wednesday to focus on the nation's stalled
economy the way he has on international affairs because 'America's economy is
in big trouble,' " the Associated Press reports. It's good to see the real
Al Gore back. Last week his android
double had nothing nice to say about the president's conduct of international
affairs. Gore got a bit carried away with his metaphors, as the Los
Angeles Times notes:
"Like a lost driver who won't stop to ask for directions, the president clutches his old plan and continues racing in the wrong direction, farther and farther into the economic wilderness, with the fate of nearly 300 million Americans in tow," the former vice president said.
There are, we must admit, legitimate grounds for criticism of the Bush administration for being economically inattentive. At the moment, the economy is expanding, but slowly--certainly not as fast as Al Gore. The Associated Press reports that when someone asked him after the speech why he wasn't wearing his wedding ring, the erstwhile veep replied: "Because I've gained so much weight I couldn't get it off." (The AP helpfully adds that "the former vice president said he actually was able to remove his wedding ring, but then couldn't get it back on.") At least no one can accuse Gore of not having gravitas.
An
Appealing Candidate
Former senator Frank Lautenberg will apparently be the Democratic nominee for
the Senate seat now held by Bob Torricelli. The New Jersey Supreme Court has decided
to interpret the state's laws establishing deadlines for candidates to get on
the ballot "liberally"--which is to say, as if they didn't exist.
Republican challenger Doug Forrester is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court,
but he'll have to find a federal issue if he hopes the justices will overturn
their Garden State counterparts. Fox News outlines Forrester's arguments:
The Republicans argue that election dates written into the law are up to the states to decide, not for courts to arbitrarily alter.
The GOP plans to argue that absentee, military voters who have already sent ballots back will be disenfranchised by the change of candidate.
A separate lawsuit would be filed in U.S. District Court on behalf of overseas military personnel who have requested absentee ballots.
It seems unlikely that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the New Jersey Supreme Court's interpretation of state law; the military-ballot issue may be more promising.
The Bergen Record reports on some of the Torricelli back story, validating the perception that the Democratic Party has engaged in a cynical manipulation of the electoral process. It seems the Dems were plotting against the Torch as early as mid-July:
So why did party leaders allow Torricelli to stay in the race so long--most importantly, beyond the mid-September deadline for easily replacing him on the ballot?
Several Democrats said efforts to dump Torricelli suffered a setback in early September, when public-opinion polls showed he was virtually tied with GOP businessman Douglas R. Forrester of West Windsor. The polls came after Torricelli was severely admonished by the Senate Judiciary Committee for improperly accepting gifts from a supporter, jailed Cresskill commodities trader David Chang.
Internal party polls showed Torricelli holding strong throughout the first two to three weeks of September. It was during that time that Torricelli successfully began to take attention off his ethical foibles and place it on Forrester, who appeared ill-prepared in two head-to-head debates. . . .
The turning point came Thursday, when the U.S. Attorney's Office released a nine-page document bolstering allegations by Chang that went beyond the matters in the Senate Ethics Committee report. . . . Internal party polls, which focused on crucial Democratic voters, showed that Torricelli's support was dropping like a rock.
Forrester's reaction to all this? "The Torricelli-Lautenberg machine's disregard for the rule of law, fair elections and the people of New Jersey will, once again, make our great state the butt of national jokes," the Washington Times quotes him as saying. On behalf of everyone who produces political humor, thank you New Jersey for all the material you've provided us this week.
Not
Quite Getting the Concept
"Delegates at an anti-racism conference voted Wednesday to expel non-blacks
from the meeting, saying it was too traumatic to discuss slavery in front of
them," the Associated Press reports from Bridgetown, Barbados. Oh dear,
perhaps someone should explain to these guys what an "anti-racism conference"
is.
Not
Too Brite--IX
C'mon, Reuters, you're making this too easy for us. "Three Die
in Cambodia Cult Suicide Bid," the wire service reports, under the heading
"Oddly Enough."
The
Blind Leading the Blond
"Media outlets around the world, from CBS, ABC and CNN to the British tabloids"
all fell for a hoax--a fake study from the World Health Organization claiming
blondes are going extinct. The Washington Post reports:
"The decline and fall of the blonde is most likely being caused by bottle blondes, who researchers believe are more attractive to men than true blondes," said CBS "Early Show" co-host Gretchen Carlson.
"There's a study from the World Health Organization--this is for real--that says that blondes are an endangered species," Charlie Gibson said on "Good Morning America," prompting Diane Sawyer to say she's "going the way of the snail darter." . . .
"We've certainly never conducted any research into the subject," WHO spokeswoman Rebecca Harding said yesterday from Geneva. "It's been impossible to find out where it came from. It just seems like it was a hoax."
The health group traced the story to an account Thursday on a German wire service, which in turn was based on a two-year-old article in the German women's magazine Allegra, which cited a WHO anthropologist. Harding could find no record of such a man working for the WHO.
Hey, if you're a journalist, we've got a great human-interest story for you: Did you hear about the blonde who invented the solar flashlight?
Little
Boy Blue
"Montana's Libertarian candidate for Senate has turned blue from drinking
a silver solution that he believed would protect him from disease," the
Associated Press reports. "Stan Jones, a 63-year-old business consultant
and part-time college instructor, said he started taking colloidal silver in
1999 for fear that Y2K disruptions might lead to a shortage of antibiotics."
Headlines we'd like to see: "Blue Pol Gets Yellow Fever, Joins Green Party."
(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Ken Jorgensen, Bennett Ruda, Stephen Skaggs, Puong Fei Yeh, Jorge del Rio, Mike Breeland, John Archer, Marie Bourgeois, Damian Bennett, Doug Levene, Joel Engel, Alan Ogletree, Zabelle Huss, Michael Segal, Gershon Dubin, C.E. Dobkin, Mara Gold, Bill Levenson, David Gerstman, Rosanne Klass, Mikael Nussdorf, Lawrence Peck, Raghu Desikan, Mitch Devine, Jerome Marcus, Paul Stinchfield, Jeffrey Weinstein, Douglas Schwartz, Aaron Gross, Tom Elia, Ron Cook, Jane Chilton, Robert LeChevalier, Toby Brevitz, Gad Meir, Richard Haisley, Greg Galdau, Natalie Cohen, Alex Lubarov, Susie Tang, Jeffrey Shapiro, Joe Littrell, Nancy Zimmerman, Rob Bohls, Jerry Skurnik, Brian Hartman, Joseph Lazauskas, Roger Heinig, Chana Lajcher, Pat Rowe, Paul Cooper, Steve Baus, Reuven Weiser, Edward Reiss and Janine Wenzig. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
Today on OpinionJournal:
- Review & Outlook: The Palm Beach Democrats resurface in New Jersey.
- John Fund: Did Gore usher in a new age of election by litigation?
- Collin Levey: What do Al Sharpton and the Mormons have in common?
