Diplomacy with Jabbering Foreigners, Et Cetera

I'm a little bit bummed out, because one of my co-workers is moving his family out West. I may be a little bit jealous, but mainly I'm bummed because I've really gotten to enjoy their company. This doesn't just apply to the co-worker (who I ought to come up with a nickname for); I have a blast with his kids, too, as you can see from this picture. I don't know why Geki-K is flashing that obscene hand gesture - maybe a Japanese gang sign? I guarantee you he doesn't know what it means! One minor note, you can see in the picture that I'm wearing my Infidel T-Shirt - kickass! I'll probably have a couple more pictures of these cute little ninjas after the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival on Saturday.

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My distinguished friend and colleague, Gus*, posted the following comment.

I've been keeping up on this topic through the news. My main concern is that a Democratic-controlled Congress is using this in another attempt to pull support out from underneath the administration.

While I'm moderate in my political views and generally side with Democrats on many issues, this is quite frankly bull$#@*. I am apalled a committee would fail to recognize the broader implications of such a move at this time. I'm not opposed to the resolution per se, but I disapprove of the timing.

This raises a related issue in teetering global politics. Was the Bush administration's awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Dahli Lama ill-timed. I would argue it was a mistake to do so (at least, publicly by Bush himself), given the administration has openly requested help in putting pressure on North Korea and Myanmar governments. As China has stated, this move will likely have far-reaching impact as we wrestle with China's growing influence and financial power.

I think that Gus makes some excellent points. Aside from maybe appeasing Armenian campaign contributors, the only motivation I can see for this is that it's an attempt by the current congressional leaders to undercut the war effort. I agree that it's shameful, particularly if it leads to the destabilization of Kurdistan. The Kurds are fiercely pro-American; and whether one favors the war or not, the Kurds have been marginalized and oppressed for years, and safeguarding the stability of their region is, at its core, a human rights issue. At its worst, if this move by the leaders of the House results in undercutting the efforts of American troops operating in Iraq, I'm not even comfortable stating what those leaders will be guilty of. Betting against a coalition victory in Iraq is utterly deplorable. Sadly, as deranged and misguided as I may see some of those on the other side of the political fence to be, they're not stupid (at least when it comes to politics); I fear that they are quite aware of the likely fallout from their efforts.

The comparison with China is an interesting one, and I think there are definitely some similarities, though I think there are some major differences that are worth mentioning. The one that jumps out at me is that Turkey is an ally, while China is a "strategic competitor"; I think that fact warrants different approaches to China and Turkey.

One big manifestation of this difference came in September, when it was revealed in the media that Chinese hackers, most likely from the People's Liberation Army, attacked American, British, French, and German military computer systems. (AFP, BBC, CNN, Fox) As far as I know, we don't see the same thing, or even direct efforts to undercut us, from the Turkish government. In fact, while Turkey is a NATO ally, China has been a "strategic competitor" since Mao's revolution in the late 1940's. So, given that, and given last week's Chinese Communist party congress, maybe the Dalai Lama's medal was deliberately timed, so as to knock China down a couple of pegs by pointing out its abysmal human rights record?

I don't believe President Bush to be quite so Machiavellian. Further, it's worth pointing out that the Congressional Gold Medal (and I know you know this, Gus) is awarded by the Legislative Branch, not the Executive; if you observe this image, you'll see the award having been presented by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). An effort aimed at undercutting President Bush's neutral relationship with the Chinese government? Tough to say, though there have been plenty of political attacks in the form of allegedly innocuous legislation over the past few months (one word: SCHIP). I will say that President Bush probably didn't have a great deal of choice in the matter; what was he going to do, snub the Dalai Lama?

Thanks, Gus*!

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As I've mentioned previously, Friar Dave is a graduate student and teaching assistant at a major midwestern university. From time to time, while grading, he finds gems like this one that he showed me last night from a vocabulary quiz on words pertaining to the Roman Republic:

Rex -- a given name Male hold the power in thi society. Your given name is a sign of your social status.

For those of you who aren't up on your Roman history, "Rex" means "King". That's all the person had to say: "King". Unbelievable.

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Okay, I have to get ready for work. Take it easy, folks, and for those of you reading from the office (Peter, are you still out there?), have a great weekend!

* It's short for Lycurgus