WRITE OF CENTER
My great-grandfather, John J. Kramer, is an inspiration in our family. He was a legal immigrant to America in 1870. Starting as a farmhand in Illinois, he hauled freight to Chicago with a team of oxen.
Eventually, he moved to Iowa and became a prosperous farmer. Today, more than 150 years later, I own his original farm.
He saw America as a land of opportunity, a place where anyone with talent, hard work, guts and perseverance could achieve their dreams. As a new Illinois citizen in the “Land of Lincoln,” he quickly saw himself as a Republican.
Over the ensuing years, as he participated in our great American democracy, he became a strong supporter of Theodore Roosevelt. He was a Roosevelt delegate at Republican conventions.
Roosevelt was our youngest president ever, taking office at age 42. He often used a phrase to describe his foreign policy: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Under his leadership, America began its ascent to become the world’s lone superpower; the 20th century has been called “the American century” by historians.
In May 1904, a group of bandits kidnapped a prominent American citizen and his stepson from their house in Tangier. They demanded a $70,000 ransom, imprisonment of government officials, release of certain prisoners and that the United States guarantee their demands. They threatened to kill the captives if their demands were not met.
Secretary of State John Hay called the terrorist demands “preposterous.” President Roosevelt sent seven U.S. Navy vessels to Tangier; at the time, it was the most American ships in any foreign port.
When asked for the American position on negotiating terms, Hay replied, “The president says our terms are this: the captives released alive or the terrorists are dead.” Simple, easy to understand.
The captives were released unharmed. Contrast that episode with an exchange that took place in Washington in 1982. Israel was fighting a war against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Their prime minister, Menachem Begin, was meeting with a group of U.S. senators.
Begin was a war veteran who also served undercover as a civilian; he was well acquainted with personal danger and sacrifice. Then-Sen. Joe Biden from Delaware threatened to cut off aid to Israel, presumably to stop their warfighting. Begin replied, “Senator, I am not a Jew with trembling knees.”
Simple, easy to understand. On Oct. 7, 2023, Israel suffered the worst loss of life since the Holocaust. Hamas terrorists crossed into Israeli territory and killed nearly 2,000 innocent civilians. It was unprovoked and totally depraved. They took hundreds of hostages back into Gaza.
Now, seven months later, an estimated 130 hostages are alive and still being held, including five Americans. They range in age from 3 to 80. We don’t know the actual numbers, because Hamas will not release any information about them.
And now Biden is threatening Israel again, this time in their war against Hamas. He has withheld shipment of critical weapons which are needed to end the war and free the hostages. With his misguided attempt to limit civilian casualties, the war will last even longer and even more civilians will be killed.
We can imagine how our legendary Republican presidents would handle this situation. A President Theodore Roosevelt would enforce American demands, not cower in fear of the terrorist demands.
Roosevelt was young, sharp, vigorous and tough. He would probably read aloud those five American hostages names, every day, until they were released; this would be the daily reminder to the terrorists and the world that America will not tolerate this situation.
A president Reagan would explain his strategy to the American people, and he would stick to it. He would rally the American people to support our closest ally in the Middle East. After all, he stood in front of the Brandenburg gate and demanded that Russia “tear down this wall.” Confronting Russia was a much tougher task than dealing with this ragtag Hamas terrorist outfit in Gaza.
Alas, we can only imagine. Instead, we are left with today’s reality. A feeble, confused president is advised by political hacks with apparently no military experience. His foreign policy seems to be “speak incoherently and pretend to carry an invisible stick.”
American hostages are languishing in horrific conditions, unmentioned and apparently abandoned by their country. The world’s lone superpower is seemingly unable or unwilling to free them.
The American people will remember all of this in November.
Scott S. Kramer is a Kendall County Republican.
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