OH Republicans Put Partisanship Above Prudence

The Stiletto ^ | February 28, 2007 | The Stiletto

[theothercheek]

After the Bush administration announced the U.S. would accept 7,000 Iraqi war refugees (second item, "The Daily Blade," February 21, 2007), OH Governor Ted Strickland told The Associated Press: "I am sympathetic to the plight of the innocent Iraqi people who have fled that country. However, I would not want to ask Ohioans to accept a greater burden than they already have borne for the Bush administration's failed policies."

Strickland – who had voted against the October 2002 resolution authorizing military force to oust Saddam Hussein when he was a member of the House of Representatives - was swiftly and roundly lambasted for the "heartlessness" of his Valentine’s Day remarks by newspapers in his state, as well as those with a national circulation. This editorial from The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) was typical:

Gov. Ted Strickland manages to look both petty and ill-informed when he says Ohio doesn't want an influx of Iraqi refugees.

Strickland, a Democrat, may not want to give President Bush any political advantages on a war he opposed while in Congress.

But resettling vulnerable war refugees should not be a partisan issue. The governor is not just being narrow-minded, but also apparently acting in ignorance of his own party's position. …

What's more, Strickland's fellow Democrats are the ones leading the charge in Washington to do more to help needy refugees and the most exposed, endangered Iraqis - those whose lives are in jeopardy in Iraq, because of work for the U.S. military or other Americans as translators, drivers, secretaries and aides.

Naturally, Strickland did what any Dem does when accused of the Republican crime of "heartlessness" – he quickly retracted his comments, explaining that he meant to express frustration with Bush instead of people displaced by the war.

So far, so predictable. But then OH Republicans decided to use Strickland’s supposed heartlessness for political gain by ripping open their shirts to reveal profusely bleeding hearts. State Senators Kevin Coughlin and Robert Spada, Senate President Bill Harris and five other Republicans co-sponsored a resolution stating:

"Whereas, Gov. Ted Strickland has indicated his desire that no Iraqi refugees be resettled in Ohio," the senators say in a portion of the resolution. "That sentiment does not accurately reflect the compassion or generosity of the people of the State of Ohio."

Coughlin tells The Associated Press that the resolution – which was sent to the Senate reference committee - intended to be a positive statement in favor of President Bush's efforts to assist Iraqi families in starting a new life, not to punish the governor.

The Stiletto is all for compassion – but not at the expense of common sense. Countries that have already taken in Iraqi refugees have been rocked by sectarian strife stemming from the seemingly bottomless well of animosity between Sunni and Shia Muslims.

Our civilian and military leaders did not fully understand this violent religious rift, playing out all over the Middle East, when they committed our troops to war in Iraq – and there is continuing evidence that they have still not learned the lessons of Iraq as other pressing foreign policy issues loom. From The Wall Street Journal:

Washington views Iran as a rogue nation that arms militias in Iraq, wants to build a nuclear bomb and seeks Israel's destruction. From Arab kingdoms on the Persian Gulf to Lebanon on the Mediterranean, however, Iran is also viewed through another prism, as a non-Arab, and, for some, heretical power intent on expanding the clout of itself and fellow Shiites at the expense of the region's Sunni establishment. …

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni royal family but roughly 70% of the populace is Shiite. The nation was shaken by a series of clashes this month between Shiite protesters and security forces dominated by Sunnis.

Saudi Arabia frets about the Shiite minority who inhabit its oil-producing eastern region next to Bahrain. Kuwait, too, has a sizable Shiite minority. Lebanon's Sunni-dominated government is under threat from Hezbollah, a Shiite militia.

Even countries with hardly any Shiites, such as Egypt and Jordan, have domestic concerns. By denouncing Iran (and by association Shiites), leaders hope to outflank their most virulent critics -- militant Sunni Islamists, who often fume against Shiites as heretics. …

When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, it believed that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, would seed tolerant democracy there and elsewhere. The war instead uncorked pent-up sectarian tensions in Iraq, pitting the country's once-dominant Sunni minority against its long-oppressed Shiite majority. The Iraqi chaos also has emboldened neighboring Iran to flex its muscles in Iraq and beyond, further stirring passions rooted in centuries of theological, political and ethnic rivalry.

Shouldn’t someone stop, take a deep breath, and consider whether sectarian strife will follow the Iraqi refugees here to America – as elsewhere on the planet? Iraqis are unable to live peaceably side by side in the fledgling democracy the US purchased for them with the blood of our best and bravest young men and women. What evidence – or hope - is there that Iraqis can live peaceably in our pluralistic culture and under our secular laws?

NOTE: In case I did not put all the links in correctly, this is the second item in a feature called The Daily Blade, and follows an article titled, "What Freedom of Speech Means To Muslims."

[tkathy]

Bush should take these people to his ranch at Crawford and resettle them on his own property.

[WhiteGuy]

Gov. Ted Strickland manages to look both petty and ill-informed when he says Ohio doesn't want an influx of Iraqi refugees.


BS.



keep them all in iraq, make them fight for their own country.

Any who are here should be sent home, for good.

Send them ALL home.

[mborman]

The US should declare a moratorium on ALL immigration for at least ten years. The borders should be closed and our ambassador to Mexico should be recalled and our embassy in Mexico city closed. Time spent during the moratorium should be devoted to deportation.

Now, as to the insanity of importing more muslims into our country.....

[theothercheek]

I'm not sure I agree with all that. There are many educated, skilled immigrants (many of whom already know English) who have filled out the paperwork and have been waiting their turn to be processed and admitted. Why punish them because our government has allowed millions of unskilled, uneducated (many of whom are barely literate in their own languages) illegals to sneak across the border while they looked the other way?

However, ignoring the experiences of several other countries that have been rewarded with sectarian strife for allowing Iraqi refugees to emigrate is pure folly.

[gcruse]

"...the October 2002 resolution authorizing military force to oust Saddam Hussein when he was a member of the House of Representatives"

Fighting them in Iraq so we won't have to fight them in Congress?

[LS]

This is Stricky's "nose in the tent" attempt to open up Ohio to all illegals, contrary to what was occurring (in a very, very mild form) under Shaft, which was a mini-crackdown on illegals.

[WhiteGuy]

No, Governor Strickland actually got it right!

You are correct!

[theothercheek]

As unkikely as it seems ... But how 'bout them republicans? We supposedly fought them over there so they wouldn't fight us over here ...

[WhiteGuy]

We supposedly fought them over there so they wouldn't fight us over here ...


propaganda.

[Mr. Silverback]

Bush should take these people to his ranch at Crawford and resettle them on his own property.

It's no surprise that your heartlessness doesn't just extend to babies, but to larger members of the human family.