Fair Mukosey

The candidate for US Attorney General has Belarusian roots

The cohort of high-ranking American politicians from Eastern European countries may soon be replenished. For the post of US Secretary of Justice and Attorney General, President George W. Bush nominated a candidate with Belarusian roots - former federal judge Michael Mukasey. The candidate said he saw his special mission as "protecting our children, the trade that makes us prosperous, and the rights and freedoms that make us a nation." According to White House press secretary Dana Perino, the Bush administration expects Mukasey's nomination to be confirmed by the Senate by October 8.

The post of US Attorney General and Attorney General, who also oversees the FBI, became vacant in August when Bush's personal friend Alberto Gonzalez resigned under pressure from the Democratic majority in Congress. Democrats accused him of supporting the president's decision to spy on American and foreign citizens after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and of firing eight federal prosecutors in 2006 for allegedly political reasons.

Despite Gonzalez's resignation, the US administration does not intend to abandon wiretapping. President Bush is calling on members of Congress to expand and extend the US Defense Act, allowing US intelligence agencies to wiretap telephone conversations without court approval. Speaking on Wednesday at the headquarters of the US National Security Agency, he proposed confirming by legislative act the authorities' right to monitor any telephone and electronic contacts of American citizens with foreigners. “Without this, our national security professionals will lose the critical tools they need to protect their country. Without these tools, our country will be more vulnerable to attack," Bush said.

Michael Mukasey, 66, has an impressive track record. Before retiring in 2006, he served for 18 years as a federal district judge in the Southern District of New York, where he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. Mukasey was responsible for investigating high-profile terrorist cases, including the 1993 World Trade Center garage bombing in New York. He also investigated cases of American citizens associated with international terrorist organizations and prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. It was Judge Mukasey who determined that they should receive the status of "enemy combatant" and be removed from American civil jurisdiction. Former colleagues describe Michael Mukasey as a "fair and independent" judge.

It is noteworthy that Gonzalez is being replaced by a candidate with historical roots in the country of Alexander Lukashenko, who is hated by the West. Michael Mukasey was born in the USA and does not speak Belarusian. But his ancestors came from near the Belarusian city of Baranovichi. They bore the surname Mukosey, common in Belarus. This case is not unique for the American political establishment. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was born in Prague under the name Maria Jana Korbielova, no less famous are the Budapest-born Congressman Tom Lantos (Tamas Peter Lantos) and a native of Warsaw, Zbigniew Brzezinski, who worked as a national security adviser in the Jimmy Carter administration. It is noteworthy that all these figures are still united by a very critical attitude towards Russia as the legal successor of the USSR.

To what extent does the Eastern European “call for blood” determine the likes and dislikes of American politicians? “People from Eastern Europe are indeed more anti-Russian than representatives of the traditional American establishment and those who have roots in Western Europe, Canada or Australia,” Nikolai Zlobin, director of Russian and Asian programs at the Washington Institute of World Security, confirmed to Vremya Novostey. According to the expert, this is primarily due to history. “In such families, traditionally, from generation to generation, children have been preached not the most favorable image of Russia. Eastern European political culture has always carried a large element of skepticism towards its eastern neighbor. In addition, many of these politicians have living relatives in Eastern Europe. And this region is still very anti-Russian,” our interlocutor emphasized. “American politicians with roots in Eastern Europe are part of the Eastern European lobby in the United States, or at least are influenced by it. This lobby has gained significant strength over the past decade. This is not so much the result of today's Russian politics as a long-lasting stereotype. But Russia in Washington, unfortunately, does not have such a lobby,” noted Mr. Zlobin.

Petr ISKENDEROV