What US Think of Threaten by ISIS in Iraq - Assignment Example

Q Sheila Jackson Lee is a graduate of Jamaica High School and earned a BA in political science at Yale in 1972, which was followed by a Juris Doctor from the Scholl of Law at the University of Virginia in 1975. Her early political career was not successful because she lost three attempts in gaining the position of a local judge before she ended up becoming a municipal judge between 1987 and 1990. From very early in her political career, she displayed a tendency towards activism and dealing with diverse matters, which affected the society as seen in her attempts to combat gang violence through working in city parks and recreation centers. Because of the support she had in the grass roots, Lee ran for the position of House Representative for the Texas 18th congressional district in the Democratic primary. As a result of the fact that the federal government had come under fire for rejecting or opposing those projects which would have benefitted the Houston area, Lee was able to ride the tide and defeat the incumbent, Craig Washington. Because the 18th District is a heavily African American majority area whose support has traditionally lain in the Democratic Party, Lee’s victory in the primaries was the same as being directly elected and this is exactly what happened when she defeated the Republican nominee, Jerry Burley in the general elections of 1994 (Feldman 6). From the time of her victory to 2008, Lee was never challenged during the Democratic primaries and this showed the massive support that she had within the electorate in her district. In the 2010 primaries, she was challenged for the first time in the primaries, but this did not deter her from defeating her opponents with a landslide, thus ensuring that her position in District 18 was secured. Because of her concern that there was a possibility that there were groups affiliated with the tea party who were intimidating voters in her district, she asked the justice department to investigate them in October 2010. She won the general election of 2010 as well as that of 2012, with her not having any challengers in the latter elections. Her tenure in Congress has revealed that she is extremely conscious of human rights issues and this has made her one of the most prominent figures in the House who fight for the end of racism as well as policies that might be considered discriminatory towards the minorities in the society. The fact that she is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus is extremely significant because it has contributed immensely to her authority and influence in the House. Lee’s educational backgrounds as well as her experiences working with local neighborhoods have made it possible for her to work effectively in the committees in which she belongs, namely the Committee of Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary. Her ability to ensure that the rights of minorities in her district are protected has made it possible for her to be effective as a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Moreover, she has been a vocal advocate of the rights of immigrants in the committees that she belongs to. This has worked towards ensuring that there is a voice of reason in the attempts that have been made to ensure that immigrants are treated as lesser beings than other individuals who have been born or are naturalized Americans (Swindell 27). The fact that she is a lawyer by profession has made it possible for Lee to consider the many issues concerning the rights of individuals and providing expert advice about when bills might have the potential of harming the rights of individuals. Therefore, one will find that there is an obvious connection between the background of Lee and her committee assignments in the House and the fact that she is an active member in all of them as well as in their subcommittees can be considered pertinent to her duties as a House Representative. 2a) Senator Ted Cruz is a Republican Senator from Texas and is the first person of Latino descent to hold this position in the history of the state. He is among the most vocal republican senators and this has been attributed to his having been a lawyer by profession as well as his strong stance on a diverse number of issues. The senior senator from Texas is John Cornyn of the Republican Party who is also the minority whip of the Senate, who has a long career in the judicial system of Texas. During his tenure, he acted as a judge in its Supreme Court as well as its attorney general, after which he has served two terms in the United States Senate. 2b) Dear Sir, RE: Terrorism and National Security It is most unfortunate that in recent months, the federal government has lost focus on what is truly important for the United States and concentrated on matters that are barely related to our national security. By this, I mean the actions which the United States has taken towards Russia in the matter concerning Ukraine, a state which is neither a member of NATO nor an ally of any significance. The fact is that Ukraine is only peripheral to the interests of the United States especially when one considers the fact that it has, for centuries been a part of the Russian sphere of influence and if we were to attempt to push it into ours; we would be at risk of creating tensions and even conflict with Russia. This is exactly what has happened and is continuing to happen in Ukraine because like it or not, it is the United States which is responsible for the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich, the legitimately elected president of Ukraine and an ally of Russia. The coup against him has created a situation where Russia has been backed into a corner, leading to its annexation of Crimea and will likely lead to the annexation of a larger chunk of Ukraine in future. The United States should never have been involved in the region in the first place and it should have discouraged any talk of the Ukraine joining either the EU or NATO because it is these more than anything which have turned Russia into an aggressive state which does not trust in the friendship or intentions of the United States. To have such an attitude from Russia means that the national security of the United States and its allies has come to be threatened and there is need for there to be active dialogue, instead of sanctions, towards Russia because to do the latter means that Russia might take retaliatory steps which might undermine our security. Mr Senator, it is important for the Senate to ensure that real national issues such as the war against terror can be completed as swiftly as possible because to do otherwise would mean the further undermining of our security. The fact that al Qaeda affiliated groups have started gaining momentum in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria, has created a situation where it will increasingly become difficult for the war on terror to be won. When one considers the fact that if these terrorist groups are able to capture huge swaths of territory and even form governments, there is a possibility that their power would be greatly increased (Tran). This is because of the fact that they will have access to the war arsenals of the countries that they have captured, creating a situation where they can be able to project their power against the United States and its allies. It is for this reason that the United State should work with the local governments of Iraq and Syria because these are the only ones that know the terrain well enough to ensure a swift and decisive victory against the terrorist groups. Moreover, the abilities of these groups have to be broken to such an extent that they are no longer capable of capturing territory and bringing terror into the rest of the world. Therefore, it is pertinent for the United States to shift its focus from such a peripheral matter as the Ukraine and concentrate on matters of real importance to our national security, such as how to deal with the ISIL threat in Iraq. Yours sincerely, Works Cited Feldman, Claudia. "SHEILA JACKSON LEE GOES TO WASHINGTON". Houston Chronicle. February 19, 1995. Print. Swindell, Bill, "Texas Democrat gets praise for immigration efforts", Government Executive, November 2006. Print. Tran, Mark. "Who are Isis? A terror group too extreme even for al-Qaida". The Guardian, 11 June 2014. Print. Read More