Violence Returns to Iraq - democracy and Military Action

Wave of attacks kills dozens amid Iraq's upheaval

The lesson here is to reassess how democracy promotion works. We cannot expect to be successful by enforcing democracy via military action. The entire endevor may prove to have been a total waste of lives and money.

Lesson learned: Empire isn't a good long term strategy for prosperity.

John Rawls - Required Reading

John Rawls

It seems only reasonable to me that such great thinkers like John Rawls should be required reading for all Christian leaders AND that the church should be a central place for public reasoning.

R2P - The Responsibility to Protect and Its Intentional Misunderstanding in US Media and Politics

The Dilemma of Humanitarian Intervention - Council on Foreign Relations

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 was based on the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect. The genesis of this doctrine was the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Security Council Resolution 1973 is, it appears, a good use of the doctrine and represents a use of military force that is not essentially an act of war. It is this unusual circumstance that has caused confusion, intentional or otherwise, in the US political scene this week.

A few points can be made to clarify the situation:

1. The use of R2P is intended to save civilians from gross human rights violations and violence. Certainly, Ghadafi has proven that he is acting violently against his own people. The world has called his rule illegitimate due to his recent response to protests in Libya. The scope of "protection" of the citizenry through a no fly zone is intended to be very limited. To the military establishment and the media, the military action is depicted as both confusing and in danger of scope creep, but if the Resolution is followed and its use of the R2P approach then much is clarified and the limited scope is protected. My advise is that the administration be clear and uses the threat of a Rwandan type situation as the reason that we are willing use force and also to use very limited force in implementing the no-fly zone. The scope is limited yet we may stay "in the area" so that we are available if the Libyan regime attempts again to slaughter its citizens.

2. We need to beware of supporting protestors who do not appear to have much democracy credentials. Of course, none of us know the make up of the Libyan opposition. Talk is of tribalism more than ideological credibility. It is precisely the backing revolutions and opposition groups who do not have a strong resume with respect to democracy that has resulted in so many long term problems for both American interests and our reputation. This is the reason we cannot give wholesale support of the protestors. Without strong pro-democracy credentials, we have no idea how the end game will play out.

3. We need to explain this approach in the context of the other rebellions in the Middle East. Yemen, Syria, Bahrain, etc. We must balance each situation with respect to the prospects for humanitarian catastrophe and the long run promotion of indigenous democracy in the Middle East.

Libya Status - Rebels Lose Key Battle of Ras Lanuf and The Arab League Votes for No Fly Zone

Arab League Backs No-Fly Zone Over Libya

This situation in Libya seems to be going from bad to worse. The rebels are quickly losing strength as they retreat from towns and as the Gadhafi's troops move further east.

Meanwhile, the Arab League voted to impose a no fly zone but will not be taking any military action. This seems to be a move forward but it still seems dire for the rebels. I could not imagine the fear these men are facing having rebelled against a diabolical dictator and now to be looking at defeat. It just shows how brave these men are. Lord have mercy on them and come to their aid. Maybe the UN will act more militarily. We can only hope.

Al Jazeera staffer killed in Libya

Al Jazeera staffer killed in Libya

This is the kind of work that needs to be heard by the public at large. Objective reporting and journalism must be a stable institution in any society that calls itself free and open. Obviously, the Libyan regime does not want openness and truth. The promotion of democracy and freedom demands the support, in any way possible, of those who expose the suffering and civil rights violations of the autocrats of the world.

Democracy and Al-Qaeda

This audio is worth a good listen. This report supports the proposition that the demonstrators in Egypt and elsewhere undermine Al-Qaeda's narrative of the Arab struggle. Al-Qaeda's use of violence and rhetoric that only violence can over throw autocrats has been an utter failure, and, instead, moderate students did what the terrorists could not due. Now, the heros of the middle east are not the radicals but the moderates.

Listen here:

Al Qaeda and The Fall of Terrorism Through Non-violent Democracy Movements

Al Qaeda Finds Itself at a Crossroads

This new reality in the middle east deserves in-depth academic and journalistic analysis, but, at first glance, it appears the fall of terrorism is at hand. This reality which we have fought so hard and spent so much money to achieve is likely to happen at the hand of indigenous democracy movements.

Democracy gives people a means other than violence to air grievances and promote their own self-interest. Of course, disappointment is bound to follow and some democratically elected leaders could become strong men and refuse to leave power. The end game and stability is a long way off.

What excites me as well is how this just might prove, once and for all, that radical Islam was just a flash in the pan. Time to find another bogeyman.

Libyan Professionals and Intellectuals Ruling 80% of Libya and Controlling 80% of Libyan Oil Fields

The future is looking more democratic and stable in Libya as the NY Times reports:

They said the city was now under the control of a committee of prominent citizens — doctors, lawyers, judges, engineers and the like — who were organizing its public services and continued defense. “We are really suffering for 42 years, and people are asking here for the same things as other people of the world — they want the real democracy,” said Ahmed el-Hadi Remeh, an engineer standing in the square.

Libyan propaganda proves false as this article reports