Old Europe's Appeasing Ways
Philadelphia
eading French politicians made
some remarkably defeatist pro-
nouncements last week.
Rejecting any U.S. military
action against Iraq, President Jacques
Chirac said, "War is always the admis-
sion of defeat, and is always the worst of
solutions. And hence everything must be
done to avoid it." Foreign Minister
Dominique de Villepin put it more
emphatically: "Nothing justifies envisag-
ing military action." To all of this, the
German chancellor beamed with
approval.
In response, U.S. Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld dismissed France and
Germany as "old Europe." The New
York Post blasted them as an "Axis of
L
Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle
East Forum and author of Militant Islam
Reaches America (WWW. Norton). His
e-mail address is: Pipes@MEForum.org
Weasels." Cartoonist Tony Auth dubbed
them the "Axis of Annoyance."
An even better name would be 'Axis
of Appeasement."
"Appeasement" may sound like an
insult but it is a serious policy with a
long history and an enduring appeal
highly relevant to today's circum-
stances. Yale historian Paul Kennedy
defines it as a way of settling quarrels,
"by admitting and satisfying griev-
ances through rational negotiation and
compromise, thereby avoiding the
-
resort to an armed conflict which
would be expensive, bloody and possi-
bly very dangerous."
The British Empire relied heavily on
appeasement from the 1860s on, with
good results — avoiding costly colo-
nial conflicts while preserving the
international status quo. To a lesser
extent, other European governments
also adopted this policy.
Then came 1914, when in a fit of
delirium nearly all Europe
course, what worked in colo-
abandoned appeasement and
nial wars had utterly disas-
rushed into World War I with
trous results when dealing
what Yale historian Peter Gay
with an enemy like the Nazis.
calls "a fervor bordering on a
This led to the policy of buy-
religious experience." A centu-
ing off totalitarian opponents
ry had passed since the conti-
being discredited through the
nent had experienced the mis-
Cold War; the Europeans, it
eries of war, and their memory
appeared, had learned a lesson
DANIEL
had vanished. Worse, thinkers
they would never forget.
PIPES
such as the German Friedrich
But forget they did, soon
Special
Nietzsche developed theories
Commentary after the Soviet Union col-
glorifying war.
lapsed in 1991.
Four years (1914-18) of
hell, especially in the trenches of
European Self-Hatred
northern France, then prompted
immense guilt about the jubilation of
In a brilliant Weekly Standard essay,
1914. A new consensus emerged:
Yale's David Gelernter recently
Never again would Europeans rush
explained how this happened. World
into war.
War II and the Cold War temporarily
Appeasement looked better than
hid the power of appeasement, but
ever. And so, as Adolf Hitler threat-
with the passage of time, "the effects of
ened in the 1930s, British and French
the Second World War are vanishing
leaders tried to buy him off. Of
PIPES on page 36
You're On Your Own Now, Joe
Philadelphia
or the past three years, a lot
of smart people around the
country have been seeking
an answer to one question:
Who is Joe Lieberman?
That question took on an added
urgency as the sainted junior U.S. sen-
ator from the state of Connecticut
launched his bid for the Democratic
nomination for president of the
United States in 2004.
Unlike previous Jews who made runs
for the White House (Pennsylvania's
Milton Shapp in 1976 and current
U.S. Sen: Arlen Specter in 1996),
Lieberman's candidacy is not an exer-
cise in futility. He is a serious candi-
date with name recognition and the
ability to raise the money needed to be
competitive. He has every right to
believe he has as good a chance as any
other Democrat to earn the right to
run against George W. Bush in 2004.
But even more than during his high-
ly regarded stint as Al Gore's running
mate in 2000, political observers, as
well as many ordinary American Jews,
are asking just what Lieberman's presi-
dential campaign offers this country.
Is he the "new Democrat" who once
.
personified a constructive alliance between
persons of faith on both sides of the politi-
cal aisle or just another cynical pol who
will say or do anything to win votes?
r
Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the
Jewish Exponent in Philadelphia. His e-mail
address is jtobin@jewishexponent.com
Making History
In assessing this potentially historic
chapter, let's first dismiss once again
the theory popular among some seg-
ments of American Jewry that Lieber-
man's candidacy will stoke the never
entirely dormant fires of American
anti-Semitism.
As Lieberman's showing in 2000 proved,
such thoughts are arrant nonsense.
Lieberman's presence on the ticket
was the best thing that happened to the
Democrats in 2000. Lieberman injected
a much-needed dose of traditional
American religious faith into the other-
wise liberal/left image of the Democrats.
His shomer Shabbat campaign
helped Democrats tap into the strong
vein of philo-Semitism that runs deep
in American Christianity. His open
observance inspired respect and
showed that pure Jew-hatred was lim-
ited to a marginal minority.
Nor is there much reason to think
that his attempt to place himself on
the top of the ticket rather than the
bottom will elicit a different response.
No, this time the issue isn't whether
the American people are wise or good
enough to accept a worthy
above all a hardheaded politi-
Jewish candidate. They are. In
cian who enjoys the nuts-and-
2004, the questions will be
bolts aspect of his trade and is
about Lieberman himself.
darned good at steamrolling
As someone who consciously
opponents and sometimes
seeks the center in American
even his allies.
politics, Lieberman can be fair-
Those seeking more insight
ly accused of incessant waffling
into the seemingly inscrutable
on issues. As one Jewish pro-
JONA THAN pii77.1e that is Lieberman should
fessional who knew Lieberman
not read the cloying, self-con-
S. T OBIN
well in Connecticut told me,
gratulatory and generally insuf-
Spe cial
"If you want to know where
Comm entary ferable book written by the sena-
the middle of the road is, don't
tor and his wife — An Amazing
look for the double yellow
Adventure: Joe and Hadassahs
line. Just find Joe Lieberman."
Personal Notes on the 2000 Campaign —
While his disinclination to break new
that has just been published.
ground on issues doesn't make him
unique, it also is responsible for the fact
The RibicoffPrecedent
that people have always tended to see
what they wanted to see in Lieberman.
If there is any Rosetta stone that can
That's especially true of the moderates better decode his political soul, it
and conservatives who played a role in
might be his senior thesis at Yale which
promoting him as a vice presidential
examined the career of a long-forgotten
candidate. This was also the group that
hack named John Bailey that was itself
was most disillusioned by his tilt to the
subsequently published in book form.
left to please core Democratic con-
Little remembered today, Bailey was
stituencies during the 2000 campaign.
the political boss of Connecticut poli-
His flip-flops on school choice, affir- tics in the late 1950s and early 1960s
mative action, Louis Farrakhan as well
who parlayed his support of John E
as the influence of Hollywood's sex
Kennedy into a stint as chairman of
and violence on American culture
the national Democratic Party under
took the shine off his reputation as a
JFK. And it is through this traditional
man of principle.
Democratic Party model that we
Anyone who watched him rise in
should look to analyze him.
Connecticut politics knows that he is
TOBIN on page 36
1/31
2003
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