Quote:
|
Originally Posted by cowboyhater
I believe Fat Pang's point is that when we try to "fix a few things", it can set in motion a series of events that can cause more problems than they solve.
By the way, we DID finally support help for the folks in East Timor, though we used Aussies as proxies. That seemed to make sense in that part of the world.
However, some of our behaviour causes head-scratching, restoring the thug Aristide to Haiti and completely ignoring the genocide in the Sudan is unconscionable in my opinoin.
|
I think that's a fair summary of my opinion ch. I have no problem with American intervention where it's undertaken with a firm understanding of objective and risk and where it's own national interest isn't an overriding factor. On this basis I'd like to see America intervene more consistently as I outlined in my earlier post.
For those who'd point out that to wish for altruistic American intervention is naive in the extreme, I'd point out that the alternative is the status quo we've all agreed we find disagreeable.
The assasination of Allende and the support of Aristide are the type of interventions that give America's opponents the ammunition to crow.
Take the ammunition away from them.
We should be doing something about the Sudan, right now and the legalistic squabbling in the UN over what constitutes genocide is unedifying.
The UN isn't the Bush's caricature of an ineffectual talking shop, but it does have it's moments where it's machinery is hijacked by political grandstanders such as the shameless French jackal Chirac. Too eager to see the resumption of the code Napoleon...........
The late Robin Cook, who was once Britain's Foreign Secretary, passionately argued for an 'ethical' foreign policy. I had little sympathy with much of his politics but this struck a chord with me, and I believe it's the only way to counter much of the lunacy around the planet. It would provide a consistency we don't see much nowadays, if we ever did in fact.
Much of the old certainties are gone, and your enemy could be living next door rather than on the next continent. A progressive Foreign policy should reflect that.