Thursday, September 12, 2002
Politics and peace in the Middle East - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- When I told a friend I was going to attend the lecture given by David Frum the other night, I was warned to “be careful,” being that it was to take place the night before the one year anniversary of September 11th, 2001. It never occurred to me that it’d be something to be scared of or worried about, but when we arrived on Tuesday night at the Schara Tzedeck synagogue, you knew something was up.
David Frum, the often controversial conservative, actually began his remarks by saying those of us in the audience should be commended, as there were more sensible things to do with our health, than being inside a synagogue on the eve of the September 11th anniversary. The building was surrounded by a phalanx of security, all sturdy figures in suits with little plugs in their ears. I arrived early with two ladies from the Louis Brier Home whom I accompanied to the lecture. There was only one door that could be used, the rest sealed off because of the heightened level of angst across the continent. (The Office of Homeland Security, earlier in the day had placed the US on ‘Code Orange’ alert.) When we got there we were all screened, and even the two ladies from the Home had to have their handbags searched. It also did not help when in Montreal, the night before, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech was cancelled due to violent protest between pro-Palestinian university students and those who were pro-Israeli. Suffice to say people’s personal safety was on their minds this past Tuesday evening.
Frum is, as his c.v. demonstrates, one of the more visible political commentators around. Most of his professional credentials are from the US, where he now lives, but he was once a columnist here for the National Post (I believe, he’s just returned there). He’s also contributed to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal (where he was an editor) and the conservative publication, the Weekly Standard. The Standard’s patron saint, William F. Buckley Jr. said of Frum’s 1994 book Dead Right: it was “the most refreshing ideological experience in a generation.” He left journalism for an interregnum writing speeches for President George W. Bush. After over a year doing that, “desperately wanting to write” in his own by-line, he left the White House with a great deal of publicity. He mentioned the incident in passing only saying it was “a story for another time.” Seems that after helping draft the President’s State of the Union address this past January, Frum’s wife Danielle Critteden had written some e-mails to friends saying her David was responsible for crafting the ‘Axis of Evil’ concept, where Iran, Iraq and North Korea were somehow in cahoots with one another. After the singing of “O Canada”, a prayer conducted by a Rabbi, a minute of silence and the singing of the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah,” Frum began his remarks which touched on a number of themes.
On the President he prefaced saying at the beginning, that he too was sceptical that the Texan governor could handle the rigours of office. He let us in on President Bush’s ability to undersell his achievements and his abilities, and how that has regrettably lowered people’s expectations of him in the media. Frum said that it does cause the President great distress when people call him a moron, an idiot or that he goes to bed at 9:30 in the evening.
After his term working for the President, he’s been convinced that President Bush is doing a fine job and that he will continue to do so. He mentioned this by saying that he’s read a number of White House memoirs written by ex-White House staffers. The common thread throughout the two dozen or so he’s read was that there was a great deal of resignation and bitterness felt by people who’ve been in the throes of power. For Frum however, it is nothing like that. He says that after seeing how George W. Bush operates, he has no reservations in that the United States is being governed well, and effectively. As one who has derided this President and who questions his abilities, I am somewhat gladdened by Frum’s assessment.
Frum is currently working on a book called The Right Man: The Transformation of George W. Bush. When asked as to the President’s religious convictions, Frum replied that the President’s faith was “fierce and sincere.” Surprisingly, as one who often worries when hearing Republicans trot out ‘Jaysus’ and begin thumping their bibles, this insight into the President’s faith is comforting. When we saw President Bush make that important decision on stem cell research, it was rooted in his deep Christian faith. Since September 11th, President Bush’s tempered and measured responses, I believe have been guided by his faith. The American people ought to be content that their leader is well endowed with the morals to lead.
One of the more interesting aspects of Frum’s talk was of his thoughts on attacking Iraq. The Jewish audience and Frum naturally support regime change in Iraq. The United States, the consensus was, should remove the tyrannical leader, who has been the most successful tyrant since Stalin. Heretofore, I have been undecided on the issue of going in and attacking Iraq. After going over the facts and hearing Frum’s conclusions, I am convinced that the United States should be supported in their efforts to remove Saddam Hussein. Frum’s thesis was simple, though terror should be rooted out in those countries that comprise the ‘Axis of Evil’, Iraq should be first, because North Korea can still be contained and Iran is on the brink of toppling. Iran, it seems has had democratic elections and since electing hard-line leaders, the people are highly unsatisfied. Iranians, according to Frum, are ready to toss out leaders who hold Iranian initiative back. Iraq should be dealt with first, because there is no semblance of opposition to Hussein, unlike that in Iran.
Frum believes that people living in Islamic regimes, like Iran, want the same things we have in the West. They want freedom of the press and freedom of speech. They want television, they want to be consulted by their leaders. Girls want lipstick, and not being stoned or beaten up if they give into Western decadence.
After his speech, Frum was greeted with much applause and about 75% of the house giving him a standing ovation. (He also noted that President Bush is probably the best friend Israel has had in the White House since Harry S Truman.) There was a brief Q&A, where the first question was asked by one Barbara Yaffe, the national affairs columnist at the Vancouver Sun. She prodded Frum as to the personal relationship between President Bush and Prime Minister Chrétien. Frum tried to deflect the query as asking for gossip on these two world leaders. He didn’t admit that the two hate each other, rather he said that Bush has been more interested in developing and cultivating the relationship with Mexican President Vincente Fox. (However gossip I’ve heard elsewhere is that Fox wasn’t happy when a Mexican national was recently put to death in Texas.) Frum noted that in the West Wing there are photos of the President with other foreign dignitaries. The hall was full of shots of Bush and Fox, but Chrétien was conspicuously absent. A friend asked why, and Frum cracked, “When Chrétien institutes multi-party democracy in Canada, then he too” would get his photo on the White House wall.
The final question taken from the floor was asked by a woman in a wheelchair who made the point that not all in the Jewish community were united in wanting to attack Iraq, nor in support of Israel stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, and the constant aggression shown towards Palestine. She was promptly booed by the audience. Frum tried to placate her and her concerns, saying that no attack of Iraq will be unilateral. That assurance, has convinced me that attacking Iraq is right, and only so if there is consensus amongst other world leaders (which President Bush will be seeking from the UN later today).
Another interesting insight provided by the former White House insider, was that of the perceived tensions between senior officials in the administration. He didn’t go out and say that Secretary of State Colin Powell was constantly at odds with his more right-wing colleagues like Vice-President Dick Cheney and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Frum, who’s been more on side with Cheney and Rumsfeld, sort of chided Powell for his desire to grant the Palestinian people their own state so soon after September 11th last year. “You don’t give statehood to terrorists,” he says was said to Powell after making the suggestion. Another thing said in criticism of the Powell plan was, “You’re giving a guy [Arafat] who’s killed 3,000 people a state? So, if he kills 3,000 more, you make it twice as big?” But Frum was sincere in complimenting Powell and his efforts in defusing the tensions between India and Pakistan earlier this year. Powell was, according to Frum, on the phone with Indian and Pakistani leaders up to six hours a day. The challenges within the administration, Frum says is useful. Early in his term, Bush is surrounded by people who are willing to challenge Bush, and who make constructive suggestions. When you’re in your final year, after two terms of being President, Frum says the President is often surrounded by a lot of ‘yes-men’; as a lot of those accomplished people have faded from the scene.
David Frum is controversial, and often very right-wing. However this talk was informative and most interesting. Whether you agree with him or not (and I often do agree with him), you have to pay attention to him because he is who he is. Like Noam Chomsky on the left, you notice David Frum. He’s prolific and often quite entertaining.
***
Last night on the Late Show with David Letterman, his guest was former President Bill Clinton. This was not announced in the press and tuning in expecting someone like Regis Philbin, I was surprised and pleased to see President Clinton on the program. Jay Leno was on last night too and while making crappy jokes and going through those endless ‘Headlines,’ Dave Letterman tastefully recognised the one year anniversary with a classy shot of the Statue of Liberty and the former World Trade Center towers. Then, Clinton came out and a most constructive and enlightening chat was had.
Clinton actually came out to a saxophone solo, which impressed him. Letterman’s first question was whether the former President still played the saxophone. Clinton, informed the audience that he’s set up a music room in his house at Chappaqua and he often goes in there to “just blow.” The audience laughed at the Freudian slip, but Letterman gingerly began asking probing questions on American foreign policy, letting that one just slide. President Clinton’s appearance and David Letterman’s performance as host last night, and Letterman’s work since coming back after September 11th proved yet again that he’s the best in late night and that Jay Leno has become utterly meaningless in the national psyche. (Leno did have Arizona Senator John McCain on his show last night, and for that he should be commended.)
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