Friday, October 21, 2011

Arabs seem to be slow learners

This article came across a while ago, and attempts to sum up feelings in the Arab world over the demise of MoMo Gaddafi:
Arabs see Gaddafi's death as lesson to other tyrants | Reuters: "(Reuters) - For many Arabs, the humiliating capture and killing of Muammar Gaddafi, the longest-serving Arab leader, is a lesson to other tyrants in a region that has overthrown three long-serving rulers this year."
It's fine to want to be rid of your tyrants, but there's a difference between freeing oneself and having another outside power come in and lop the head off the current oppressive regime.

Their motives are usually no more benevolent than the guy they replace.

It's kind of shaky to generalize and stereotype, but when it comes to the Arab world, those people seem to catch on pretty slow when it comes to discerning what's in their best interests. People in the US have the same affliction, of course, but at a minimum there were the trappings of a functioning civil society with ostensible democratic values and the rule of law.

The Arab world, in contrast, seems to be flailing about. They hate the current dictator but can't seem to shake his hold on power. It takes NATO, for example, to dislodge a Gaddafi, and what do the people get at the end of it all?

This transitional government is already being courted by the likes of Hillary Clinton, the she-wolf of the evil empire, that fits a client state's political leadership to the policy of the IMF and multinational corporations, instead of the other way around.

Egypt's people gave Mubarak the boot, but for their trouble, what did they get? A full-bodied military dictatorship, with the civilian leadership in the hands of religious fundamentalists. This is not a good formula for political freedom and economic prosperity; it seems more attuned to continuing the status quo in relations with the regime's benefactors in the US and Europe.

The Libyans, in particular, ought to wait another six months before they really start celebrating. Until the smoke clears and the new rulers show their true allegiances, it's premature to claim victory for a popular movement that, after all, would never have had a chance without NATO's bombs.

The victory belongs to NATO, not the Libyans.

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