by Eric Martin
Matt Duss passes along a recap of a recent incident that offers yet one more indication that McCain's foreign policy will be, in almost every crucial respect, a redux of the Bush administration's circa the first term - if not more reckless. Just observe how his campaign reacted to a relatively innocuous event held in Syria, in pursuit of an agenda that is, ostensibly, shared by the governments of Israel and the United States.
Yesterday, the McCain campaign held a press call trying to make an issue of former U.S. ambassador to Israel/current Barack Obama adviser Daniel Kurtzer’s attending a legal conference in Damascus. McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann and Ru9y Giul1an1 both did their best to spin Kurtzer’s presence in Syria in the most sinister way possible, but unfortunately for Team McCain, the only traction the story has gotten thus far has focused on reporter Ron Kampeas of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency being cut off when he confronted Scheunemann and Giuliani on their history of lobbying for various foreign interests.
...Scheunemann and Giuliani strongly implied that Kurtzer was involved in “covert” negotiations with the Syrian regime on Obama’s behalf, when in fact all Kurtzer appears to have done was voice his support for continuing Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations. Joe Klein writes that “the McCain campaign and its neoconservative allies have expanded their foolish bellicosity to Syria and are now criticizing a sometime Obama adviser for…saying that it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the next U.S. President to promote an Israel-Syrian peace accord”
Well Joe, that all depends. It's not necessarily that the neocon set abhors the notion of peace between Syria and Israel - it's just that they don't want Israel to be forced to make any concessions (Golan) in order to attain that detente. What they, and McCain, fail to understand is that such an uncompromising position is not in either Israel's or the United States' interest. Most reasonable people can appreciate this. As pointed out by Duss, Kurtzer's position on the continuation of the Syria-Israel peace negotiations is actually...the Israeli government's position! How radical!
Nevertheless, Michael Goldfarb dutifully slings a slightly different variety of propaganda and sleaze:
The deputy communications director for the McCain campaign, Michael Goldfarb, quipped yesterday: "If one of Senator Obama's advisers has been to Damascus, we just wonder how many have been to Tehran."
Right. As mentioned above, the attempt to personally attack - if not demonize - Kurtzer is standard neocon fare when confronted with good faith, dissenting opinions. For those looking forward to a respite from 8 years of Bush administration destructiveness in this regard, think long and hard about what 4 years of McCain would look like. More of the same, at the very least. You think I'm being hyperbolic? Take a galnce at the biography of the man that McCain's top advisors sought to smear. From Heather Hurlburt:
When the McCain campaign goes after an Orthodox Jew, former dean of Yeshiva U., career diplomat who was the Bush Administration's ambassador to Israel on 9-11, was caricatured in anti-Semitic cartoons in the Cairo press during his tenure as Ambassador to Egypt, where he bravely was a public face of Orthodoxy, and is the Commissioner of the Israeli Baseball League (you can't make this stuff up), for doing something the Israeli government is already doing (talking to Syrians), will someone please tell me exactly how this country is supposed to have a diplomatic establishment?
...When someone with a record like this can be trashed, how on earth are we supposed to have a bipartisan foreign policy establishment, or partisanship that stops at the water's edge? (I know, I know, it was only a rhetorical question. But still.)
I think that last bit was the punchline. Gallows humor, I admit. Let's hope the last laugh isn't on us all.
What? Goldfarb didn't know? Kurtzer's mom is Iranian, and they meet up every other Saturday down in her basement with the Iranian Ambassador to Syria, the head of the secret police, and Ahatola Khomeini for six hour mountain dew fueled D&D games. Khomeini plays the cleric.
Posted by: Zifnab | August 22, 2008 at 12:47 PM
When Obama's people go to Teheran, they bring a bible signed by the President, a cake, and a couple of cargo containers full of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles.
It's traditional.
Posted by: Davis X. Machina | August 22, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Zing!
(particularly liked this: "Khomeini plays the cleric" - not that I would know that a cleric is a character in D&D. Just guessing. Nervous laughter.)
Posted by: Eric Martin | August 22, 2008 at 12:52 PM
With all the fuss about McCain's many houses, I decided to take the Washington Posts "photo tour" of the houses themselves. I saw something that worried me much, much more than a guy being rich.
The photo showed McCain walking down a long corridor in his Phoenix condo, labeled the "Hall of Fame". The hall was decorated, literally floor to ceiling, with framed documents and photos. They were crowded together, as though someone had wanted to get as many as possible onto that wall.
I really, really hope that the "fame" referred to isn't McCain's own. I hope that some of the framed documents are letters from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and that some of the photos are of Teddy Roosevelt or US troops during WWI/WWII.
But I'm concerned that is probably not the case. And if the "Hall of Fame" showcases McCain's own achievements- then I'm very worried that the guy who wanted that hall, the guy who regularly walks through that hall, is encouraging himself to become a guy incapable of questioning and rethinking his own decisions. Not a good quality in a president.
Posted by: Anne E | August 22, 2008 at 02:07 PM
Speaking of the Bush Administration's first term, let's all let this pass by!
Posted by: Gary Farber | August 22, 2008 at 03:22 PM
Anne E:
All of the pictures in McCain's hallway are pictures of his other houses, including the one-bedroom walk-up in Hanoi.
Posted by: John Thullen | August 23, 2008 at 09:51 AM