Cody Cook
Published: April 13, 2005
U.S. efforts in Iraq appear to be succeeding after a tough two years of occupation, but problems in three “wild-card” countries could spoil everything, according to CNN conservative political analyst Bay Buchanan.
Buchanan spoke to a group of about 50 people in the Ashmore Auditorium on April 5 as part of PJC’s Lyceum arts and lecture series. The sister of former presidential candidate and conservative commentator Pat Buchanan, Bay Buchanan served on all three of her brother’s presidential campaigns and worked as national treasurer of Ronald Reagan’s campaigns in 1980 and 1984.
Although Buchanan initially opposed the war in Iraq, she credits President Bush with sticking to the task of policing the country and trying to establish a democratic state. She said that citizens now need to “support our president’s decisions and work to finish what we’ve started.”
“The politics of this war have been very difficult for the Democrats,” Buchanan commented. “The Republicans are smart; they were able to tie the war to homeland security, knowing plenty of Americans would stand behind that.”
According to Buchanan, the last two weeks have seen a decrease in insurgent activity in Iraq. One reason for this development is more Sunnis participating in efforts to establish a government. Of the three major groups in Iraq-Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds-the Sunnis have been the least cooperative in holding elections and working out arrangements to share power. In fact, the insurgency is largely fueled by Sunnis, Buchanan said.
But recently, Sunni tribal leaders have appeared to endorse peaceful participation in the new government, she said. That’s good news for the American efforts.
While democracy seems to be catching on in Iraq, she warns that democracy may be moving too quickly in other parts of the Middle East.
“Democracy is catching on in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, and this is not the kind of democracy we would hope for,” she said, referring to the large number of Islamic fundamentalists in that country.
Recently, the Egyptian president announced that in Egypt’s next election-which traditionally does not offer voters much of a choice-opposition candidates and parties will be allowed to participate.
Buchanan warns that while Egypt’s decision may be a step toward democracy, the United States could lose a valuable ally if the currentpresident is defeated.
Buchanan said the Americans should keep a close eye on Syria and Lebanon as well as Egypt.
Syria, which has been occupying Lebanon since 1976, recently felt U.S. pressure to pull out before the Lebanese primary elections in May.
However, a recent pro-Syrian rally held in Lebanon attracted a crowd of half a million people who shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Buchanan stresses that with such support, even if Syrian troops leave Lebanon, a pro-Syrian government could still be elected, which would most likely result in an anti-American. That regime, in turn, could support the insurgency in Iraq and undermine U.S. efforts there.
As a traditional or “paleo” conservative, Buchanan is highly critical of neoconservatives such as Paul Wolfowitz, who was recently nominated by President Bush to head the World Bank. Wolfowitz is recognized as one of the architects of the war in Iraq.
Buchanan recommended giving Wolfowitz “some seemingly important job overseas, somewhere where he can’t make any important decisions regarding U.S. foreign policies.”
Wolfowitz is a strong advocate of invading Iran, something that Buchaman is very much opposed to. She argues that “if the United States really wants to see a strong anti-American movement and an Islamic revolution, [the U.S.] will invade Iran.”
Another key subject in her speech was U.S. immigration policy. Buchanan is a strong supporter of anti-immigration efforts and laws against employers of illegals. She believes that the U.S. cannot say that it is protected without a closed border.
“There is no way we can even discuss homeland security until southern U.S. borders are sealed,” she said when asked if she believed some terror threats might come from southern neighboring countries.
She commented on the economic and safety issues of allowing illegal immigrants into the United States:
“Not only does it hurt our American workers because employers are hiring for cheap labor, but immigration has led to a large increase in violence in California due to Latino gangs.”
The college paid Buchanan $7,200 for her speech, said Don Snowden, head of the Music and Theater department. She was originally scheduled to speak before the election last fall, but had to cancel when she could not find a hotel room in post-Ivan Pensacola.