Kamala Harris’s Shadow Foreign Policy Cabinet

It might be too soon for Vice President Harris to be measuring new curtains for the Oval Office. It’s not too soon for the rest of us to mark what the Brits call her shadow cabinet. Who are the vice president’s men and women advising on foreign affairs? From a personal spiritual guide to a foreign policy guru, most share a long association with the veep, a skepticism of American power, an aptitude for appeasement, and an aloofness from the Jewish state.Take Ms. Harris’s personal pastor, Amos Brown of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church. Shortly after September 11, 2001, he shocked attendees of a memorial service for victims of the worst terror attack against America. “Ohhhh—America, what did you do?” He asked stunned mourners. “America, what did you do two weeks ago when I stood at the world conference on racism, when you wouldn’t show up?”According to Pastor Brown, then, one unforgivable American sin that prompted Osama bin Laden’s attack was absence from a United Nations gabfest at Durban, South Africa. The anti-racism conference there turned so antisemitic that America withdrew its envoy. The upshot is that the Vice President has a Jeremiah Wright problem, though Mr. Brown guides her merely on spiritual, not policy, matters. Ms. Harris’s top national security adviser is Philip Gordon, who has been with her since she became vice president. “Reports of abuse in Israeli prisons are deeply troubling,” Mr. Gordon writes on X referring to a case in an Israeli military court where evidence is inconclusive. He calls himself “deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza.” An Israeli strike there killed 31 terrorists. Hamas lowered its death count to 40 from 100. Mr. Gordon now frets about the visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by Minister Ben Gvir and calls his remarks “inflammatory.” No word about the genocidal threats this week from Iran and Hezbollah. No wonder. When out of government, Mr. Gordon was a prolific essay writer, railing against Iran sanctions and the attack that killed Iran’s Qassem Soleimani. His frequent co-writer, Ariane Tabatabi, has sought Tehran’s advice on Congressional testimony. According to a new Free Beacon report, Ms. Tabatabai, who holds a sensitive Pentagon position, has visited the White House on numerous occasions even after Semafor, the Sun, and other publications exposed her membership in a ring of writers known as Iran Experts Initiative. Does Mr. Gordon facilitate Ms. Tabatabi’s White House access? The administration rebuffs Senators Stefanik and Cotton’s investigation into the relationship between these two. As criticism has waxed over Ms. Harris’s focus on the sins of Israel, she named this week a liaison to the Jewish community. The Jerusalem-born Ilan Goldenberg, who has long advised her on the Mideast, renounced his Israeli citizenship to join the Obama administration. As an adviser to Senator Warren and a member of J-Street, Mr. Goldenberg criticized Israeli policies and advocated appeasement of the Iranian Islamic Republic. In a typical attack on President Trump’s policies, Mr. Goldenberg scored the decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv as “provocative.” The move had been sought for years by a nearly unanimous Congress. To balance out the naming of a liaison to the Jews, Ms. Harris simultaneously named one to the Muslim community, Nasrina Bargzie. She is a critic of our Marines who were fighting terrorists in Afghanistan, where she was born. Ms. Harris, a foreign policy novice, is yet to outline coherent national security principles. How would hers differ from those of the administration she currently serves? We have long criticized President Biden’s timidity in global affairs and his tepid support of Israel. Judging by the coterie that guides Ms. Harris on issues that could determine America’s place in the world in the next four years, Americans could come to miss Mr. Biden.

Kamala Harris’s Shadow Foreign Policy Cabinet

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