PAT BUCHANAN News & Opinion special forces to assist Iraq’s defeated and demoralized army, and there is talk of U.S. air and missile strikes and drone attacks on ISIS, in Syria as well as in Iraq. That would constitute a new war. Yet the president, who taught constitutional law, says he does not need Congressional authorization. He is dead wrong. Not only has he no authority to take America into civil wars in Iraq and Syria, he would be insane to do so without the support of his countrymen, as expressed in a vote by Congress. Obama is about to make a decision fateful for himself and for his country. Does he not realize that he is on the edge of an abyss, about to stumble into a tribal and religious war across the Middle East? The Iraq we left behind three years ago no longer exists. It has been divided up into a Kurdistan, the Sunni region of the north and west, and a Shia-dominated Baghdad and south. To put the Iraq of Sykes-Picot back together would require thousands of troops to recapture and hold Iraq’s border towns and to reimpose Baghdad’s rule over Anbar and the Sunni Triangle. As the Iraqi army has been routed from this region, recapturing these Sunni lands could require U.S. troops in numbers to rival the surge that enabled Gen. David Petraeus to defeat al-Qaida in Iraq. Yet the situation in the Sunni region is more hostile today. The Sunni do not want U.S. troops fighting to force them back under Baghdad’s rule. Some have welcomed ISIS as allies in the fight to be free of a hated Shia-dominated army and regime. Some Sunni Arab states are expressing bewilderment that the United States seems about to start a war on the Sunni regions. Are we really going to send planes to bomb and kill our former allies, with their wives and children as collateral damage? Among the Shia volunteers on whose side we would be fighting are the Mahdi Army we fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Many have blood debts to collect from U.S. soldiers. Ayatollah Khamenei says that while he might welcome the use of U.S. air power against ISIS, he does not want U.S. troops to return to Baghdad or the Shia south. Is the U.S. Air Force going to become the Condor Legion of the Ayatollah Khamenei? Assume that we intervened massively, led the Iraq army back into the Sunni north and west, and helped it to recapture Mosul and the border posts. How many U.S. troops would we have to leave behind in Iraq to prevent a future Shia regime from losing its Sunni provinces a third time? TIMES, THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 • 4 COPYRIGHT 2013 RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., INC. Since 1908 Published Every Thursday By RIDGEWOOD TIMES PRINTING & PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. General Publication Office: P.O. Box 863299 Ridgewood, N.Y. 11386-0299 60-71 Woodbine St., Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 Periodicals Postage Paid At Flushing, N.Y. 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Elmhurst, Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, Richmond Hill, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Woodhaven, Elmhurst, And Kew Gardens. Reaching The Brooklyn Homes Of Ridgewood, Bushwick, Cypress Hills, East Williamsburg And Williamsburg. COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement. Make Congress Vote On War With the Islamic warriors of ISIS having captured all the border posts between Iraq, Syria and Jordan, we may be witnessing the end of Sykes-Picot. That was the secret 1916 treaty by which the British and French carved up the Ottoman Empire, with the Brits taking Transjordan and Iraq, and the French Syria and Lebanon. Sykes-Picot stuck in the craw of Osama bin Laden. Now his most fanatical followers have given him a posthumous triumph. President Obama said over the weekend that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which seeks to create a caliphate out of the Sunni lands of Syria and Iraq it occupies, poses a threat to the United States. Obama has thus committed 300 -SEE BUCHANAN ON PG. 26- EDITORIAL Why do so many Americans have a general mistrust of government? Look no further than the recent actions of the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) as Exhibit A. At a May 22 public hearing in Middle Village on a proposed homeless shelter in Glendale, DHS Assistant Commissioner Lisa Black was asked if the agency would consider housing homeless persons at the former Pan American Hotel in Elmhurst. She publicly dismissed the notion, claiming the hotel—which has over 200 rooms—lacked kitchen and bathroom space, thus making it purportedly insufficient to house homeless families. But on June 6, with little or no warning to anyone in Elmhurst, the DHS began moving homeless persons into the Pan American Hotel—into the very same facility Black denounced just two weeks earlier at the Middle Village hearing, before some 200 witnesses and members of the local press, this newspaper included. At first, the DHS claimed it was housing homeless persons at the former Pan Am on a temporary basis supposedly until more suitable shelter space could be provided. But alas, that was also a lie. In fact, Samaritan Village—the nonprofit behind the Glendale shelter proposal—submitted a similar plan to the DHS to convert the Pan Am into a transitional housing shelter for over 200 families. “DHS has reviewed Samaritan Village’s proposal for this site and they have been approved to operate transitional housing and provide an array of social and re-housing services to homeless families as they move to permanency,” Black wrote to Queens Community Board 4 Chairperson Christian Cassagnol in a letter dated June 6. What changed in two weeks’ time that transformed the Pan American, in the DHS’ eyes, from unsuitable to ideal as a homeless shelter? Was Black merely mistaken at the May 22 hearing or just trying to pull the wool over Queens residents’ eyes? Don’t get us wrong, this is not about one commissioner at one agency. This is about an agency that refuses to listen to communities where it wants to create homeless shelters, and refuses to acknowledge the myriad problems which come from warehousing large numbers of homeless people in one location. The DHS constantly points out that the city has over 50,000 homeless persons; they’re right. The DHS constantly points out that the city is mandated under law to provide shelter to homeless persons; they’re right on that point as well, though maybe it’s time to revisit the law’s application. But the manner in which DHS provides shelter couldn’t be more wrong for the city, its residents and its homeless population. As evidenced by numerous media reports—including The New York Times’ “Invisible Child” exposé—the city’s homeless shelters are notoriously crime-ridden, filthy and dilapidated. There are strict curfew laws preventing families from going out after certain hours or having company. The DHS seems to want to shame homeless shelter opponents for standing in their way, but rather, the agency should be ashamed of itself for doing nothing to improve on its shelter system. The agency treats homeless people like prisoners for the sake of getting them off the street; this abhorrent policy must end. In the middle of all this, Mayor Bill de Blasio put forth a housing plan that would transition thousands of homeless persons out of shelters and into public housing in the years ahead. Yet the DHS carries on with its Glendale and Elmhurst shelter dream. If de Blasio’s plan is genuine, then he should order DHS to stop the Glendale and Elmhurst proposals. What is he waiting for? Letters To The Editor Taking Offense To A ‘Modest Proposal’ Dear Editor: In a recent edition of your newspaper I read an article by one of your writers in regard to our Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven, store signage. (News from the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association column, “A Modest Proposal For A Modest Problem,” June 12 issue, available online at www.timesnewsweekly.com) This writer is also affiliated with an organization, under whose banner he writes. The article was very critical of how these signs, although written in English were “replete with misspellings” ... “and other mangling of the English language.” Then he further states that he is “referring to egregious errors that bespeak extreme apathy or laziness on the part of those who commissioned and produced the signage.” Then giving examples of the misspelled words and grammatical errors; such as “francy instead of fancy.” Since the Woodhaven Business Improvement District was stated in reference to these signs, I will respond to his, as he calls it, “pet peeve.” The Woodhaven Business Improvement District is here to assist, advise and counsel our store and business owners on Woodhaven’s Jamaica Avenue with any problems or complaints they bring to our attention. If this signage situation is brought to our attention, as any problem, our assistance, if requested will be provided. We are fully capable of expending any time or energy necessary until a resolution is reached Throughout this article, our store and business owners and their deficiency in writing the English language is of a very insulting tone. As we all well know, many of these individuals, as many of our residents, are not well versed in English writing, since English is their learned language. Evidently, their sign makers are also English learners. Since these signs have been produced at great cost, you cannot expect them to be corrected and replaced. This would be a financial hardship to any store or business to replace their sign for any reason. It is interesting to note that in spite of the “misspellings and ungrammatical statements” that the words were understood by the writer. As in “Francy” meaning “fancy.” Also, it is not a matter of “who is setting up shop on Jamaica Avenue” or “raising questions about how much pride they feel in Woodhaven.” This statement is offensive, for misspelling is not the measure of having pride in Woodhaven. The fact that they have chosen Woodhaven to open a business, invest money in renovation and signage is testimony to their commitment and belief in Woodhaven’s economic vitality. All of these statements are very condescending to the hardworking store and business owners on our WBID, Woodhaven’s Jamaica Avenue. Maybe the writer’s time, with the “several people” he can recruit, would -SEE LETTERS ON PG. 28- PRIMARY RESULTS Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Rep. Gregory Meeks easily defeated challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Full results are posted on our Twitter page, www.twitter.com/ timesnewsweekly, @timesnewsweekly.
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