International Intervention in Libya: Double Standards, Human Rights, and "Protection of Civilians"
While Japan and indeed, most of East Asia, is being anxious as the number of dead from the Quake continues to mount and the prospects of abnormal nuclear radiation become more and more realistic, on the other side of the world, the long-brewing political changes in the Middle East is overtly taking a turn for "globalization." Specifically, as demands for gasoline gets distorted in Japan because of fear-driven hoarding, perhaps it is also at the same time relevant to take a look the events on the other side of the globe that can easily distort supplies....
Last time I really paid attention to the developments in the Middle East, the riots are just beginning to gather stem in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen after success in overthrowing long-time strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia. But when I was riding the train (I am surprised just how much stuff I come across while riding trains in this country) the other day, I was jolted by the news that allied forces led by US, UK, and France have so quickly launched air and missile strikes against Libya, just hours after UN Security Council approved no-fly zone over the North African state.
And how quickly did the tide of the civil war turn in Libya. With reports of government forces bombarding the rebel headquarters at Benghazi just before the allied strikes, the Libyan government forces almost immediately issued an (unfortunately unenforced) general cease-fire to all troops and made a hasty withdrawal from Benghazi suburbs despite continued allied bombardments. Rebels, on the fringes of defeat only hours ago, threatened to "liberate" the entire country as government warplanes no longer roam the skies.
However, it is more interesting to look at a bigger picture that develops around the changing situation of the civil war in Libya. To the east, Yemeni government has been slaughtering protesters devoid of any heavy weaponry (unlike the Libyan rebels counting heavily-armed defected government troops in their ranks), and Saudi troops, armed with the best of American imported arms, have been "intervening" on the behalf of Bahrain government with silent approval from its ally the US.
The media around the world has been quick to cry "double standards." Obviously, in the bloody crackdowns in all three countries where civilians are in equal amount of danger, the major Western powers have not treated the local populace as if they actually have the same amount of basic human rights. It really does seem that the Libyan government is getting the short end of the stick simply because of past feud and still shaky (sometimes hostile) relationships with the Western powers.
Sarkozy wants reelection, the British wants to clear any sort of ambiguous yet intimate relationship the Labor Party had with Libya, Obama wants more popular support as a new policy for Middle East...many top-down reasons in the West are cited, virtually guaranteeing Libya to be used a foreign scapegoat for agendas, sometimes completely domestic within the Western countries, but not directly related to the Libyan government or the people. The situation is so reminiscent of how the Kurds are sacrificed by the US in the aftermath of the Iraqi War.
The fact that concern for the local populace is obviously not the main reason the major powers choose their destinations for intervention only makes the declared purpose of the intervention more ironic-sounding. In the so-called "Operation Odyssey Dawn," the allies emphasized their only role of "protecting the civilians" against government aggressions, all in the backdrop of actual strikes in urban areas that did equal, if not more, damages to civilian residences as military compounds. Doubts about the effectiveness of the Operation in its declared purpose, chiefly from the media, the Arab League, and other powers like Germany, fell on dear ears as strikes continued.
The distribution of power, economic, military, and consequently, political, is not equal and will never be equal across the world. Soft power can provide status and respect in times of peace, but at times of turbulence, the power of the gun is the only one that can highlight difference in power. This point applies for natural disasters just as it does for war. Movements can be generated by agitations and sufferings of the nameless crowds, but for them to be helped and their ideas accepted, a concentration of hard power needs to back it up.
That sort of hard power was present when the Egyptian people rose up, and the when the Japanese people calmed faced tragedy. But if similar things were to happen in other places where those with hard power had not so much of a stake, the outcomes would have been very much different. So, the ultimate lessons for the small countries with little power out there is one about making friends with major powers. When unusual and unpredicted disasters strike, whether the government survives or not depends on how the outside forces react. Neither economic freedom or expressive ones will really help out in such crises....
BDMA4D6A2FRJ
Last time I really paid attention to the developments in the Middle East, the riots are just beginning to gather stem in Libya, Bahrain, and Yemen after success in overthrowing long-time strongmen in Egypt and Tunisia. But when I was riding the train (I am surprised just how much stuff I come across while riding trains in this country) the other day, I was jolted by the news that allied forces led by US, UK, and France have so quickly launched air and missile strikes against Libya, just hours after UN Security Council approved no-fly zone over the North African state.
And how quickly did the tide of the civil war turn in Libya. With reports of government forces bombarding the rebel headquarters at Benghazi just before the allied strikes, the Libyan government forces almost immediately issued an (unfortunately unenforced) general cease-fire to all troops and made a hasty withdrawal from Benghazi suburbs despite continued allied bombardments. Rebels, on the fringes of defeat only hours ago, threatened to "liberate" the entire country as government warplanes no longer roam the skies.
However, it is more interesting to look at a bigger picture that develops around the changing situation of the civil war in Libya. To the east, Yemeni government has been slaughtering protesters devoid of any heavy weaponry (unlike the Libyan rebels counting heavily-armed defected government troops in their ranks), and Saudi troops, armed with the best of American imported arms, have been "intervening" on the behalf of Bahrain government with silent approval from its ally the US.
The media around the world has been quick to cry "double standards." Obviously, in the bloody crackdowns in all three countries where civilians are in equal amount of danger, the major Western powers have not treated the local populace as if they actually have the same amount of basic human rights. It really does seem that the Libyan government is getting the short end of the stick simply because of past feud and still shaky (sometimes hostile) relationships with the Western powers.
Sarkozy wants reelection, the British wants to clear any sort of ambiguous yet intimate relationship the Labor Party had with Libya, Obama wants more popular support as a new policy for Middle East...many top-down reasons in the West are cited, virtually guaranteeing Libya to be used a foreign scapegoat for agendas, sometimes completely domestic within the Western countries, but not directly related to the Libyan government or the people. The situation is so reminiscent of how the Kurds are sacrificed by the US in the aftermath of the Iraqi War.
The fact that concern for the local populace is obviously not the main reason the major powers choose their destinations for intervention only makes the declared purpose of the intervention more ironic-sounding. In the so-called "Operation Odyssey Dawn," the allies emphasized their only role of "protecting the civilians" against government aggressions, all in the backdrop of actual strikes in urban areas that did equal, if not more, damages to civilian residences as military compounds. Doubts about the effectiveness of the Operation in its declared purpose, chiefly from the media, the Arab League, and other powers like Germany, fell on dear ears as strikes continued.
The distribution of power, economic, military, and consequently, political, is not equal and will never be equal across the world. Soft power can provide status and respect in times of peace, but at times of turbulence, the power of the gun is the only one that can highlight difference in power. This point applies for natural disasters just as it does for war. Movements can be generated by agitations and sufferings of the nameless crowds, but for them to be helped and their ideas accepted, a concentration of hard power needs to back it up.
That sort of hard power was present when the Egyptian people rose up, and the when the Japanese people calmed faced tragedy. But if similar things were to happen in other places where those with hard power had not so much of a stake, the outcomes would have been very much different. So, the ultimate lessons for the small countries with little power out there is one about making friends with major powers. When unusual and unpredicted disasters strike, whether the government survives or not depends on how the outside forces react. Neither economic freedom or expressive ones will really help out in such crises....
BDMA4D6A2FRJ
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