Originally published on the CGS blog on October 11, 2007.
I have never testified before Congress. Many friends of mine have, and while they said it is an honor and a thrill, it can also be nerve wracking and – well – in some cases flat out embarrassing. Frank Gaffney, who my colleague Scott Paul has written about due to Gaffney’s staunch opposition to the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOS), testified last week before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As noted by The Washington Post the other day, Mr. Gaffney made a goof:
“Frank Gaffney, a Pentagon official in the Reagan administration and a leading critic of the long-debated Law of the Sea Treaty, said he wears “with the greatest of pride, a token of an award that I received from the Navy League of the United States.” The watch “was given to me,” he said, “because of confidence in my judgment about what is in the long-term interests of the Navy.” And the treaty, he said, is certainly not in the Navy’s or the country’s interests.
But Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) brushed aside the memento.
“You know, Mr. Gaffney, I want to say I have great respect for the Navy League, as well, the entity that gave you your watch that you so proudly [held] before the committee. And I’d ask unanimous consent to include into the record a letter from the Navy League that says, ‘. . . we write to urge you and your Senate colleagues to vote in favor of the ratification of the Law of the Sea Convention . . .
I could almost hear the Beatles song in the background:
Day after day, alone on the hill,
The man with the foolish grin is keeping perfectly still.
But nobody wants to know him,
They can see that he’s just a fool.
And he never gives an answer …..
I bet Mr. Gaffney probably wishes he never gave the watch answer.
