Tom Lantos Posted by Max Bergmann

I was struck with great sadness this morning learning of the death of Tom Lantos.

As an immigrant and a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, whose thick accent and life story mirrored that of my grandparents, Lantos was revered in my family. To my grandparents the mere fact that someone like them could achieve so much here, spoke volumes about America.

His stubborn persistence on human rights pushed the notion that American foreign policy “national interests” were not just defined by geopolitics or economics, but by our values as well. Lantos’ advocacy on behalf of human rights and combating genocide came, not just because of some abstract belief in these values, but because he had experienced the horrors of genocide first hand. But Lantos had also experienced the power of America to help those in need. He was a constant reminder to us of the good that America could do in the world. He did this not just through his efforts in congress, but through the power of his story. He will be missed. 

Comments

[Cal]

I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but Lantos was also an advocate for war and military dominance, as this pre-war Haaretz article makes clear:

"My dear Colette, don't worry," said Tom Lantos, the California congressman, as he tried to calm MK Colette Avital of the Labor Party, who was visiting Capitol Hill last week as part of a delegation of the Peace Coalition. "You won't have any problem with Saddam," the Jewish congressman continued. "We'll be rid of the bastard soon enough. And in his place we'll install a pro-Western dictator, who will be good for us and for you.".

Lantos explained to his guest from Israel that there's no lack of Iraqi opposition figures in exile, but until they learn how to run a state, "we'll be there." According to Lantos that interim period, with an American-sponsored dictator in power, should last between five to six years.

Avital says she asked how one can talk about a dictator in Iraq and at the same time demand "democratic reforms" in the territories as a precondition for renewing the peace process. Lantos said that democratization in the territories is just a general "road map." He reminded her that "the U.S. didn't turn into a democracy overnight." In any case, he promised her that after America gets rid of all the regimes of evil, it will go straight to Syria, "and tell young Assad that's what will happen to him if he doesn't stop supporting terrorism."

5 years later, hundreds of thousands are dead because of this man's cynicism and stupidity.

[DonkeyHawk]

Cal - Don't lie. You did intend to speak ill of the dead. By cherry-picking heresay from a self-interested source, you do an injustice to this life-long Democrat's heroic career. He was a statesman of principle and integrity whose own life saved many and inspired more. I traveled extensively with Lantos before he was made Chairman, and was awed by his command of history, his diplomatic flair, and his keen sense of the power of moral authority which he wielded faithfully and expertly. He was and eccentric and not without flaws (who isn't?), but on balance, he was gift all Americans and all who believe in human rights and freedom should be thankful for. Shame on you.

[Cal]

Yes I did mean to speak ill of this particular dead man, and I'll do it again

Lantos' most memorable effort, though, may be his role in pushing a tale that is now regarded as a museum-worthy specimen of war-time propaganda — the discredited Gulf War 1 yarn of Iraqi soldiers yanking Kuwaiti babies from their incubators as they looted hospitals.

...Though compelling, Nayirah's story was completely false... Hill & Knowlton VP helped organize hearings on Iraq's misdeeds and produced the girl, who was billed as a "nurse."...

"Lantos basically turned over the Human Rights Caucus into a front for Hill and Knowlton," John MacArthur, who authored the book Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War, told the Institute for Public Accuracy recently. "When you called up the Human Rights Caucus Foundation, you got the offices of Hill and Knowlton. The Kuwaitis even ended up donating $50,000 as thanks to the foundation."

Human rights are not served by lying, even after a man dies.

[Benjamin Bergmann]

Good post Max. I called mom immediately after I heard.

[Benjamin Bergmann]

And to Cal:

Tom Lantos understood better than you the price people pay under regimes that abuse human rights. He understood better than you will ever be able to understand why we all have a moral duty to prevent injustice wherever it is in the world. Don't try to cherry pick some questionable decisions (decisions consistent with his views) when remembering a man who stood for justice in the face of tyranny all his life.

Tom Lantos was a good man, please do not disgrace his memory with offensive comments that glaze over the legacy of great hero. He is no more responsible for this war than any other of the hundreds of congressmen who voted for it.

And, are you suggesting that Iraq under Hussein wasn't a gross abuser of human rights? Are you really suggesting that Lantos is responsible for thousands of deaths? If you are--you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Cal]

He is no more responsible for this war than any other of the hundreds of congressmen who voted for it.

Yes, I'll give you that. No single man -- not even Bush -- could have started this war by himself. It takes the media, think tankers, bureaucrats, and yes, "opposition" party members like Lantos. Obviously I'm not saying he had as much to do with the war as Bush, but he played his part.

You can call his support for the Iraq war "cherry-picking." I say it was arguably the most important vote of his career and he was wrong. And if Avital's quote is accurate -- a quote he never denied -- he was wrong for the most cynical of reasons, and not because of his concern for human rights. Lantos' terrible experience during the Holocaust doesn't wash that away.

As for the 1st Gulf War -- a war I supported, FWIW -- the fact that Hussein is a monster doesn't justify working with Hill and Knowlton to propagandize the American people for war. Lantos could have brought up any number of instances where Hussein committed war crimes. But he couldn't have done that without inviting talk about America's collusion in many of those crimes. So he and others made up an atrocity that America wasn't involved in, because the atrocity didn't happen. (This is also the reason for the relatively obscure charges brought against Hussein at his trial. His greatest crimes -- like Halabja -- were never mentioned.)

I don't know why I should be ashamed about bringing up the historical record. If you think Lantos acted appropriately, why get angry when I mention these episodes? I just happen to disagree with you.

[Vladimir Matovic]

I am serbian canadian and I have to say that Tom Lantos did a lot of harm to serbian people and I will not forget that and everyone who collaborated with him . I don't draw satisfaction from his death but disquiet that he got away with it for so long and did so much harm to us by inciting bombings and ethnic cleansings. He was a serial war propagandist against Serbia and against Iraq which draws into question everything that is assumed about his life