A4
East Oregonian
Thursday, January 24, 2019
CHRISTOPHER RUSH
Publisher
KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
DANIEL WATTENBURGER
Managing Editor
WYATT HAUPT JR.
News Editor
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Environmentalists follow playbook on wolves
W
e live in an era of black-and-white,
of lines drawn in the sand, of
non-negotiables.
The only problem: That’s not the way life is. Any-
one who has ever been married — or involved in
any other committed relationship — knows compro-
mise is a large part of life.
Ironically, decisions are often better because of
compromise, not in spite of it. But it takes good-
will and a willingness to say “yes” to reach an
agreement.
That observation came to mind as we digested
the shenanigans perpetrated by four environmental
groups that took part in mediation over the revision
of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management
Plan.
In straight talk, they bailed out of the discussions
because they wouldn’t budge on their opposition
to killing wolves that continue to attack livestock.
They believe ranchers are at fault for not keeping the
wolves away from cattle and sheep. No doubt they
also blame the cattle and sheep for jumping into the
mouths of the wolves. The groups — Oregon Wild,
Cascadia Wildlands, Defenders of Wildlife and the
Center for Biological Diversity — told Gov. Kate
Brown in a letter that the whole exercise was a sham
because everyone else in the room didn’t go along
with their demand.
“We’ve tried for years to come to an agreement,
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, File
A gray wolf of the Wenaha Pack captured on a remote cam-
era in February 2017 on U.S. Forest Service land in Oregon’s
northern Wallowa County.
but the state won’t fix its broken, outdated approach
to wolf management,” Amaroq Weiss, West Coast
wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diver-
sity, said.
In the letter, the groups attacked ODFW staff for
“leading us to a seemingly predetermined outcome.”
In other words, it’s the environmental groups’
way or no way. This appears to be right out of the
environmental organizations’ playbook.
Step 1. “We just want a place at the table and to
be part of the discussion.”
Step 2. “We won’t compromise.”
Step 3. “We’re pulling out.”
Step. 4. “We’re suing.”
And so it goes.
In point of fact, wolf recovery in Oregon has
been an overwhelming success. More than 124
wolves have taken up residence and thrived across
the state, from the northeastern corner to the south-
western corner.
All sides should recognize that success, such as it
is, by acknowledging the resilience of gray wolves.
The predators know how to take care of themselves.
The idea that an apex predator that dominates
the countryside wherever it roams needs protec-
tion demonstrates — once again — that the federal
Endangered Species Act needs to be rewritten to
take reality into account.
Only a handful of those wolves have caused prob-
lems, and ranchers and wildlife managers are only
saying those few need to be removed.
That’s not an ultimatum, which the environmen-
talists like to use as part of their playbook.
It’s just plain common sense.
OTHER VIEWS
More schools and fewer tanks for the Mideast
P
resident Donald
spend in Afghanistan.
Trump’s sud-
Why could Tunisia
den announce-
transition to democracy
ment that he’s pulling
when others couldn’t? It
U.S. troops out of Syria
starts with its founding
and shrinking their num-
father, Habib Bourguiba,
ber in Afghanistan has
Tunisia’s leader from
prompted a new debate
independence, in 1956,
T homas
about American ground
to 1987.
F riedman
forces in the Middle
Though he was a pres-
COMMENT
ident-for-life like other
East and whether keep-
ing them there is vital or
Arab autocrats, Bour-
guiba was unique in
not. I’m asking myself
the same question. To answer that other ways: He kept his army
very small and did not waste four
question, though, I need to start
decades trying to destroy Israel;
with another question:
Why is it that the one Arab
he was actually a lonely voice
Spring country that managed to
calling for coexistence.
make a relatively peaceful transi-
He educated and empowered
tion from dictatorship to a consti-
Tunisian women and allowed rel-
atively strong civil society groups
tutional democracy — with full
to emerge — trade unions, law-
empowerment for its women —
yers’ syndicates, women’s groups,
is the country we’ve had the least
who were vital to toppling Bour-
to do with and where we’ve never
guiba’s tyrannical successor and
sent soldiers to fight and die? It’s
forging a new constitution with
called Tunisia.
Yes, Tunisia, the only Middle
Tunisia’s Islamic movement. Tuni-
sia was also blessed by having
East country to achieve the ends
little oil, so it had to invest in its
that we so badly desired for Iraq,
people’s education.
Syria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and
Tunisia, in short, had the cul-
Afghanistan, did so after having
tural underpinnings to sustain a
hosted more U.S. Peace Corps
democratic revolution. But polit-
workers over the last 50 years
ical and cultural transformations
than U.S. military advisers and
move at different speeds. The U.S.
after having received only about
(myself included) wanted to rush
$1 billion in U.S. aid (and three
the necessary cultural transfor-
loan guarantees) since its 2010-11
mation of Afghanistan and Iraq,
democracy revolution.
By comparison, the U.S. is
but as Peter Drucker once noted,
now spending about $45 billion
“Culture eats strategy for break-
fast.” That fact — plus our own
a year in Afghanistan — after
incompetence and their corrup-
17 years of trying to transform it
tion — has eaten alive the U.S.
into a pluralistic democracy. That
democracy efforts in Iraq and
is an insane contrast. Especially
Afghanistan.
when you consider that Tunisia’s
All of this shapes how I think
self-propelled democracy is such
an important model for the region, about Trump’s abrupt order to
withdraw from Syria and desire
but an increasingly frail one.
It’s threatened by labor strikes, to get out of Afghanistan. I think
the spillover of instability from
he is right on Afghanistan. We’ve
Libya, a slowing economy that
defeated al-Qaida there; it’s time
can’t produce enough jobs or
for us to negotiate with the Tali-
ban and Pakistan the best phased
income for its educated young
exit we can — and take as many
people, and a 2016 International
people who worked for us as we
Monetary Fund loan that restricts
can. Afghanistan has hard coun-
the government from hiring, all
tries around it — Russia, Paki-
causing stresses among the key
stan, India, China and Iran — and
players in its power-sharing deal
they have the ability to contain
involving trade unionists, Isla-
mists, old-regime types and new
and manage the disorder there.
democrats. For now, Tunisia is
We gave at the office.
holding together, but it could sure
I’d keep our special forces in
use one week’s worth of what we
Syria, though, but not because
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of
the East Oregonian editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page
express the opinions of the authors and not
necessarily that of the East Oregonian.
we’ve yet to defeat ISIS. ISIS is
a direct byproduct of the wider
regional struggle between Sunnis
and Shiites, led by Saudi Arabia
and Iran. ISIS arose as an extreme
Sunni response to the extreme
efforts by Iran and pro-Iranian
Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria to
ethnically cleanse and strip power
from Sunnis in Iraq and Syria. As
long as Iran pursues that strategy,
there will be an ISIS in some form
or other.
That’s why the only peace pro-
cess that could have a stabiliz-
ing effect across the Middle East
today is not between Israelis and
Palestinians — but between Iran
and Saudi Arabia.
What the small, not-all-that-
costly U.S. force in Syria does that
is most important is prevent the
awful there from becoming the
truly disastrous in a couple ways.
It does so in part by protecting the
Kurds and moderate Sunnis from
the murderous Syrian government
and Turkey. The mainstream Syr-
ian and Iraqi Kurds have been
forces for decency and Western
values in that corner of the world.
One day we might build on their
islands of decency; they’re worth
preserving.
Our forces also help stabilize
northeastern Syria, making it less
likely that another huge wave of
refugees will emerge from there
that could further destabilize Leb-
anon and Jordan and create nativ-
ist backlashes in the European
Union like the earlier wave did.
To me, the EU is the other United
States of the world, and we and
NATO have a vital interest in pro-
tecting the EU from being frac-
tured over a fight over the influx
of Mideast refugees.
Finally, I’d take $2 billion of
the $45 billion we’d save from
getting out of Afghanistan and
invest it regionally in all the cul-
tural changes that made Tunisia
unique — across the whole Arab
world. I’d give huge aid to the
American University in Cairo, the
American University in Beirut,
the American University of Iraq,
Sulaimani, and the American Uni-
versity of Afghanistan.
And I’d expand the scholarship
program we once ran by which
top Arab public school students
were eligible for a U.S.-funded
scholarship to any U.S.-style lib-
eral arts college in Lebanon or
anywhere else in the region.
I’d also massively expand stu-
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dent visas and scholarships —
especially for Arab women — for
study in America. And I’d offer
5,000 scholarships for Iranians
to come to America to get gradu-
ate degrees in science, engineer-
ing or medicine, with visas avail-
able in Dubai. That line would be
so long! Nothing would embarrass
the Iranian regime more.
And I’d give Tunisia a $1 bil-
lion interest-free loan and quadru-
ple the size of the Tunisian Ameri-
can Enterprise Fund that promotes
startups there.
The other $43 billion I’d spend
on new infrastructure in America.
Since 9/11, we’ve relied almost
entirely on hard power. Some
was needed, some is still needed,
but most of it failed. It’s time we
tried more soft power. It’s time we
focused on giving more Arabs and
Iranians access to the ingredients
that enabled Tunisia to transform
itself by itself into a democracy
without a single U.S. war fighter.
Yes, it will take a long time.
But there was never a shortcut,
and the approach we tried with
the Pentagon in the lead has only
led to multiple dead ends.
Thomas Friedman is a colum-
nist for the New York Times.
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editor Daniel Wattenburger,
211 S.E. Byers Ave.
Pendleton, OR 9780, or email
editor@eastoregonian.com.