The United States lost a \u201cforce\u201d yesterday. Elijah Cummings, son of sharecroppers, long time representative of his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland passed away. He was only sixty-eight years old. He was the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on the forefront of the battle between the White House and the Congress. And he, along with John Lewis and Jim Clyburn, represented Congress\u2019s best: the leaders from the Civil Rights generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most recent memories of Cummings are of conflict with the Trump Administration. But even in that conflict, he showed compassion. It was Elijah Cummings who, when Trump lawyer Michael Cohen came back after lying to his Oversight Committee, offered praise at his willingness to be finally forthright. Cummings was both passionate and compassionate. He recognized that the witness in front of him was going to jail, and was doing his best to atone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Elijah Cummings was more than just a partisan. When a young Congressman, a \u201cSquad\u201d member, called out Republican Mark Meadows for being racist, it was Cummings who stepped in. He mediated between the two; explaining that while Meadows had different political views, that, in fact, he was a close friend. When Republican turned commentator Joe Scarborough married co-host Mika Brezhenski, it was Elijah Cummings that officiated the ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the President, Donald Trump, called Baltimore a \u201c\u2026garbage strewn, rat infested Hell hole;\u201d Cummings responded without vitriol. He invited the President to come and see \u201chis\u201d Baltimore, and called on the President of the United States to be the President of Baltimore, Maryland as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our current crisis, it\u2019s unavoidable that we feel a sense of abandonment. We need Elijah Cummings, we need his leadership and his compassion, and we need his strong voice calling on all of us to be moral. It\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others will step up. If there is one thing Americans have faith in; it\u2019s in our ability to replace those we lose. The history of America is full of stories of the next person stepping in, rising to the challenge. General Winfield Scott Hancock stepping up for the loss of John Reynolds at Gettysburg. Harry Truman replaced Franklin Roosevelt at the end of World War II. Americans know that history shows the void will be filled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we will miss Elijah Cummings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back at the last two weeks, it\u2019s clear that the President \u201cgreen lighted\u201d Turkey\u2019s invasion of the Syrian Kurds in his phone conversation with President Erdogan. Whether he did that out of a willingness to get out of Syria, or out of weakness when faced with a Turkish threat, we don\u2019t know. What we do know is that Mr. Trump has now circulated the Sunday \u201cletter\u201d to Erdogan. From the Administration\u2019s standpoint, the letter seems to be designed to make Mr. Trump look \u201ctough.\u201d Unfortunately, when read from a Turkish standpoint, the letter seems incredibly disrespectful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In very simple language, President Trump presented a choice to the Turks. Either pull back from the invasion discussed the day before, or the United States would invoke economic sanctions that would be ruinous to the Turkish economy. That seems plain, and tough enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the entire tone of the letter seems like that of a father writing to his pre-adolescent son, it is the last paragraph that was bound to generate the most hostility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHistory will look upon you favorably if you get this done the right and humane way. It will look upon you forever as the devil if good things don\u2019t happen. Don\u2019t be a tough guy. Don\u2019t be a fool!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The President of the United States has warned the proud heir to the Ottoman Empire and Kemal Ataturk that he could be \u201cthe devil,\u201d \u201ca tough guy\u201d and \u201ca fool!\u201d He has treated the Turkish government with complete disrespect. It has the same paternalistic tone that US Presidents used with Native American Tribal Chiefs in the 1800\u2019s. And he\u2019s done it from a position of weakness, not strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No wonder the Turks crossed the border without fear of US involvement.\u00a0\u00a0All Trump had to deter them was a \u201cstern\u201d letter and future economic sanctions.\u00a0\u00a0Erdogan threw it in the trash. Then in a news conference with the President of Italy, Mr. Trump talked about how our former allies the Kurds were even more dangerous than ISIS.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s hard to see how Vice President Pence and Secretary Pompeo had a negotiating position to stand on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the \u201cagreement\u201d reached in Ankara was little different than the phone call.\u00a0\u00a0Turkey wanted a twenty mile wide, two hundred forty mile long control zone in what was Kurdish Northern Syria.\u00a0\u00a0They got it.\u00a0\u00a0Erdogan wanted any militarized Kurds removed from the area.\u00a0\u00a0They got that.\u00a0\u00a0And he wanted to have an absolute right to use military force to control the zone.\u00a0\u00a0And he got that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Vice President Pence had his \u201cMunich Agreement\u201d moment.\u00a0\u00a0And the Vice President was smart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He gave Donald Trump all the credit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No Position to Negotiate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n