« Sergeant in Afghanistan: "Let's Get it Done" | Main | Seraphic Secret on the Road »
February 01, 2007
An Evening With Dr. Charles Krauthammer
Exclusive to Seraphic Secret
By Jake Novak
Last night I was extremely lucky to be invited to spend a very stimulating evening with Dr. Charles Krauthammer, syndicated columnist for the Washington Post and frequently-quoted thinker on Seraphic Secret.
The event was arranged for the biggest donors to a very excellent charity called Shalva, which caters to children with mental and physical disabilities and their parents primarily in Jerusalem but also here in the United States. Please visit Shalva's web page at www.shalva.org and consider making a donation to this organization that performs incredible acts of kindness every hour of the day.
The evening began with a 20 minute talk by Dr. Krauthammer at the 5th Avenue home of James and Merryl Tisch. Later, I was lucky enough to enjoy a private dinner with Dr. Krauthammer and a just about 10 other people. The dinner did not end until well after 10pm.
For those of you who do not know, Dr. Krauthammer is wheelchair-bound, the result of a devastating car accident in 1972 while he was a first-year student at the Harvard medical college. It was clear to me during his remarks that he is in constant physical pain that he alleviates somewhat by frequently adjusting his mechanical chair. I mention this only to emphasize the fact that it is astounding that a person with such physical difficulties can speak so eloquently no matter what the setting. I also bring his disability up because he happens to be a general opponent of embryonic stem cell research, (although he does believe President Bush's policy against it is too harsh), and he stands as a strong example of why we should not assume that every American who is paralyzed or similarly incapacitated does not care about the ethical ramifications of unrestricted embryonic research.
Dr. Krauthammer touched on many topics during his remarks. Here are the highlights below, (I endeavor to use the exact words Dr. Krauthammer used as much as possible, but obviously there is some paraphrasing here):
On the War on Terrorism
"America is now facing a similar situation as it did in the early days of the Cold War. Eventually, we came to realize that we faced a menacing threat from two major centers, one in Moscow and the other in Beijing. Today we face a battle against radical Islam, with the Wahabist Sunni power center in Saudi Arabia and the other in the Shiite power center of Tehran.
"Both of these enemies are extremely dangerous and more akin to the Nazi and fascist threat we faced in the 1930's and 40's than they are like the slightly less menacing Communist threats of the next 50 years. But even worse than the Nazi menace, is the fact that these newer enemies are much closer to acquiring nuclear weapons than Hitler was at any time during his 1933-45 reign. More on this later…
"The Shiite enemy is more dangerous right now and if the Sunni-Shiite battles escalate beyond the current low-intensity conflict, the United States must back the Sunni powers in heart-wrenching, but necessary "choose Stalin instead of Hitler" kind of way.
"The Shia enemy axis is centered in Iran, with its satellites Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to a growing extent, its new clients in Syria and within Hamas. Syrian Muslims are not purely Shia or Sunni, but they are leaning toward full compliance with Iran in the absence of any other sponsor and protector at the moment. Hamas is 100% Sunni, but it too has decided to align with Iran. Recent protests by Fatah groups in Gaza have included the taunts "Shia! Shia!", as a way of accusing their Hamas opponents of surrendering their religion to Iran.
"The Sunni enemy is less organized and strong than Iran's Shia network, because of America's success in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq. Al Qaeda poses a much smaller threat than Hezbollah as it is on the run and Hezbollah is getting more entrenched in Lebanon every day, Syria has been unmolested, and Iran gets closer to nukes.
"But the focus on the weapons themselves is clouding the fact that we must be more concerned right now with the delivery systems. Even if Iran never gets a nuclear warhead, its missile-launching capacity is greater than ever before right now. The U.S. needs to have a good strategy to destroy those sites instead of trying to neutralize the nuclear program which is mostly underground and spread out all over the country.
"The recent report in the Sunday London Times that Israel has a plan in place to use tactical nukes to hit Iran is complete rubbish, as is everything else that appears in that newspaper. There are important reasons why striking Iran is problematic for Israel, and the biggest reason is that Israel would need somewhere to land and refuel to execute a strike and it is unlikely it could find such a place where it would be allowed to do so right now. Turkey and Iraq are possibilities, but not today. The recent decision to deploy an American aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf was a welcome event and hopefully it will send a cautionary message to Iran.
"Some of the Sunni-Shia conflict can work to our benefit. Secretary of State Condi Rice is working with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and some other Sunni regimes on setting up some kind of "Sunni NATO" that will give them a stronger military card to play against Iran and possibly Syria in the years to come. It's not clear whether this idea will work, but it's worth trying.
"More importantly, the world must get serious with the radical Islamist threat and be ready for a prolonged war in the region. Europe is not only not a realistic ally militarily, but it along with Russia and China will make sure that all the non-military options like negotiations and sanctions will never work. President Bush's steadfast belief in facing the enemy threat militarily and trying to promote democracy in the region are our best hope. However, for the first time, I am seeing a weakening in the President's resolve vis a vis Iran and that is very disturbing. Even before the November elections, I spoke with the President and his response to my question about a possible military strike on Iran was met with a meeker answer than ever before."
On the Situation in Israel
"Israel is straddled with the worst government it's ever had in its 59-year history. Olmert and company are incompetent, but just competent enough to stay in power and avoid new elections.
"Olmert's biggest failure was last summer's war where he bungled a chance to destroy Hezbollah. Sharon had ignored many similar provocations from Hezbollah before, but he never struck back because he was not ready. Olmert struck back, but he too did not have a strategy and he tried to fight the war on the cheap.
"The right man to lead Israel now is Netanyahu. The problem is, and I say this as a strong personal friend of his, he is almost inept at building a coalition and has so many personal problems that he may not be able to win over the Israeli voters ever again. Netanyahu is too clever by half, as was evidenced by his resignation just before the Gaza pullout instead of months before when Sharansky resigned on principle, which is the way to do it. The result was that Olmert solidified his position as Sharon's successor and Netanyahu can now see that he would today be Prime Minister had he not quit the Sharon government. On the other hand, Netanyahu does have a strategy and is likely to act on it if he is put back in charge. He had one of the most successful terms of any Prime Minister in Israeli history and he was absolutely the best finance minister the country ever had.
"Speaking of Sharansky, he is my all-time hero. I've met many other people who came out of the gulag and situations like that. He is the only one who clearly became a better person in every facet of his life because of that experience. This is in contrast to someone like John McCain who is still quite wounded emotionally from his experiences as a prisoner in Hanoi and still struggles with these handicaps every day."
On the 2008 Presidential Elections
"This is the first time since 1952 that no President or Vice President is in the race, and that's why we are seeing so many candidates. However, it is nearly impossible to think of any plausible scenario other than Hillary Clinton as the Democratic nominee and John McCain for the GOP. This is encouraging because Hillary is running to the right of all the other Democrats and McCain is remaining steadfast in his support for the war in Iraq."
On Jews and American Politics
"The fact that 80% of Jews vote Democratic and vilify President Bush is not only puzzling, it is suicidal. While I differ with the President on many issues myself, most notably abortion that pales in comparison to his support of Israel. This also plays itself out in the way American Jews fear and loathe Evangelicals. This reminds me of Prime Minister Menachem Begin's visit to the U.S. in 1978 when he met with Jerry Falwell. Jewish groups attacked him and asked how he could meet with someone who 'only supports Israel because of some Christian belief in the second coming.' To that, Begin answered, "That does not bother me. But when the Messiah comes, I will ask him: 'Have you been here before?'
"I am a secular Jew, and I see that Reform Judaism serves a special role by keeping a lot of Jews within the community, but its priorities are way out of whack."
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at February 1, 2007 08:50 AM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
What a dinner that must have been! Krauthammer remains an intelligent, clear voice in the midst of the general confusion of the day.
Posted by: Tamara at February 1, 2007 10:47 AM
Tamara:
It truly was a great evening. I don't agree with everything Krauthammer says, but most of the things we disagree on do not really matter all that much.
I took no notes and I had no tape recorder, but his words were still very clear in my head 12 hours later.
Posted by: Jake at February 1, 2007 10:58 AM
Jake--nice to be included at such an event, huh? Guess you're one of those top donors... ;)
I'm sure you managed to hold up your own end of the conversation rather nicely!
Posted by: Pearl at February 1, 2007 11:16 AM
I had to take out a second mortgage just to afford the appetizer.
Seriously, I happen to have a dear, dear long-time friend who I'm happy to say is a fabulous success in the Hedge Fund world. He is married to another long-time friend of mine so I often get included in events like this that are well above my pay grade.
Posted by: Jake at February 1, 2007 11:20 AM
Jake: Great recounting of what must have been an incredible night. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: MAJ Virgil Hilts at February 1, 2007 11:30 AM
MAJ:
Thanks so much. One thing I left out was Krauthammer's take on Sadr. He believes we should have killed him in 2003 or 2004, but now he is untouchable. At some point he thinks Maliki will have to ditch Sadr and if he doesn't, the U.S. must ditch Maliki.
Posted by: Jake at February 1, 2007 11:38 AM
Thank you for this mitzvah, Jake. Only complete humans can wrap their brain around tragedy as well as comedy. I'm sure the issues raised by the good Doc's comments will nourish your comic talents, too.
(I was unaware of his physical hardships, so my respect for him is greater than ever.)
Posted by: Jeremiah at February 1, 2007 12:30 PM
Jeremiah:
Thank you very much. If you really want to be moved... read this piece Krauthammer wrote in honor of his med school mentor when he passed away in 2000. It is a tear-jerker:
Posted by: Jake at February 1, 2007 12:36 PM
Jake, thanks for sharing this amazing evening with us. Dr. Krauthammer has long been a favorite of mine because of his clear, concise, conservative thought....and for his courage to stand for what he believes. His disabilities have made me admire him even more. Thanks again.
Posted by: Suz at February 1, 2007 03:12 PM
Let me correct that....his strength in his disability and the way he does not use those disabilities has increased my admiration for him.
Posted by: Suz at February 1, 2007 03:15 PM
Re: 2008 candidates:
Giuliani. If he gets nominated he'll win.
McCain isn't going to last. He's too old, the people who don't like him really don't like him.
It'll be Romney, Rudy, and Newt. Newt won't last either, too polarizing.
Posted by: Yehudit at February 2, 2007 01:53 AM
Suz:
He was a psychiatrist before he got into political writing, and somehow I think the world lost a great therapist.
Yehudit:
I just don't see how Rudy wins the GOP nomination with a pro-gun control, pro-choice, and checkered personal history all rolled into one. Perhaps he could overcome one of those things but not all three in the primary campaign. But I am biased in that I don't think that any current Republican or Democratic Mayor of NYC could or should ever run for President. The last one who tried was John Lindsay... 'nuff said.
Posted by: Jake at February 2, 2007 04:02 AM
Jake,
Fascinating account. I've always wondered how Dr. Krauthammer's training as a psychiatrist influenced his political view. Suz is certainly right that the world lost a great therapist but gained a great pundit. I have to disagree on one point: If Bill Clinton could overcome his personal baggage, I'd think Rudy could overcome the political baggage you mentioned. At this stage of the game, he's the only one who looks "presidential" to me.
Posted by: David at February 2, 2007 11:41 PM
David:
Well, the best candidate hasn't won the presidency since 1956.
The personal baggage is actually the least of his problems. Abortion will hurt him in the Southern primaries, but he can overcome that. What will nail him is his anti-gun stance... particularly out West. It's just too much all at once.
Posted by: Jake at February 3, 2007 03:55 AM
Pure envy on my part just thinking about being in the same room! Now I know why he is such a great thinker and speaker: psychiatrist! His disability is exactly the type of example that John McCain simply cannot duplicate. A family member of mine was in the same camp with McCain for a number of years. My family member has managed to maintain a truly warm, giving and loving personality, which, in my opinion, McCain does not portray in any aspect of his public life, the injury to his soul, was too great, I believe.
Rudy could win, but he must be very tough. Personal problems? What personal problems. Who, that is running doesn't have worse? It's anybody's game at the moment.
Posted by: sharinlite ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 5, 2007 01:32 PM
Sharinlite:
Regarding Rudy:
The Evangelical vote is crucial and Rudy is Pro-choice.
That spells doom.
He is also anti-NRA.
In the South and West, that also spells Doom.
To sum up:
He has already lost most of the Red States. Unless he does a quick and elegant about-face. Which is not his style.
IMHO: Mitt Romney is the man.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 5, 2007 02:47 PM
Robert J.:
If you're right about Rudy, then we deserve what comes next. The Evangelicals and NRA had better understand that they need to put their votes where it will make the BEST use of what this country stands for. Or than that, it's the tinfoil hatted loons of the left that will take over compeletely and tell you and me how to live, when to live, where to live and if we can live!
Posted by: Sue at February 6, 2007 11:15 AM
Sue:
I actually just heard Rudy talking about his pro-lie stance and his answer was extremely compelling. I'm not sure the Evangelicals will buy it, but the gist of it was, for me, a real eye opener.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at February 6, 2007 11:32 AM
I went on google to find out more information about Charles Krauthammer because I admire his comments on FoxNews. I did notice he had a disability and you clarified that in your article. I never knew he was a medical doctor, what a brilliant accomplished man. I support Israel and yes Netanyahu is the right man to return as a significant power in Israel. I pray America withstands all it's pressures and our future becomes filled with strength.
Posted by: Ginger at July 2, 2008 06:29 PM
Ginger:
Thanks so much for your support, it's greatly needed and appreciated.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at July 3, 2008 09:38 AM
I disagree about Krauthammer's stature. He and Lieberman have not done good by Israel in the sense that there is a big backlash against Israel among the American people.
He has continually shifted his support for what is taking place in Iraq every time the Bush administration shifts its own rational.
The Bush administration has done Israel no favors. Israel is no better off than in 1999, and one can argue it is actually worse off.
This sabre rattling over Iran will lead to nothing good. Iran has not aggressively attacked another nation since the USA has existed. One man's political comments are no reason to inflict suffering on millions, which is what surely will happen if Iran is attacked.
When a Palestinian can fire a $50-dollar rocket and get a $5 million dollar response guaranteed to create 10 more $50-dollar rockets, then it doesn't take too much intelligence to see who will win.
A sea-change in thinking has to be made.
Posted by: KAckermann at July 4, 2008 01:23 PM
We are so thankful for men like Charles Krauthammer, I admire his intelligence. It is always interesting to hear his answers on politics.
Charles, keep up the good work, and thank you.
vmm
Posted by: vicky mc vicker at August 28, 2008 07:34 AM
Dr. Krauthammer is a fascinating and compelling thinker. His tone is debate is always measured and his arguments nearly always seem to me to be inarguable. It is difficult to the see other side of any given subject when the man so clearly defines the totality of the issues.
At the very least, I would argue it safe to say the depth of his knowledge and reason are impossible to dismiss as the thoughts of a partisan hack. He is truly among the greatest thinkers of our time.
Posted by: Will at October 1, 2008 07:13 AM