TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVES

TERRITORIAL IMPERATIVES
COMPROMISING NATIONAL SECURITY

By: Geoff Metcalf



"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', 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.

Published in the April 30, 2007 issue of Ether Zone.

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