Tunisia: catch all

[Dayuhan]

Will we step up to champion the populace of Tunisia in their quest for greater liberty, a new Parliament, a new constitution, and an new future? To pursue Self-Determination and life, liberty and happiness on their own terms. Or will we reinforced the failures of the exiled regime and attempt to "enforce the rule of law" and return it to power?

Or will we mind our own business and let them sort it out on their own, unless our assistance is specifically requested by someone with a credible claim to represent the populace?

Libya is a great example, as Qaddafi's son is on record as a much more moderate leader than his father. Now is the perfect time to sit with Qadaffi and recommend that he nip the growing unrest in his nation in the bud by taking control of the situation while the situation is still within his control. Shift leadership to his son and open talks with his people regarding reasonable governmental reforms.

What makes you think that Qaddafi would pay any attention to unsolicited American advice on management of domestic policy? Not like we have any special influence there.

This is also an opportunity to recalibrate Western CT programs and security force capacity building programs in these nations. Such intel-driven, threat-centric efforts have served to enable these Arab leaders to continue to act with impunity toward their own populaces, rolling up nationalist subversives in the name of "counterterrorism."

We're not "enabling" anything. These guys would roll up and roll over their opponents no matter what we do and no matter what we think. It's what they do, it's what they've always done. We can't stop them and they don't need our help.

We have allowed Bin Laden and AQ to become the champion of the people, while we have settled deeper into our Cold War role as the protector and the enabler of these oppressive regimes.

Who says bin Laden is the champion of the people? What people, and where? Sure, people are willing to support bin Laden as long as he's fighting the good fight against foreign intruders in Muslim lands somewhere far away, but I don't see any populace anywhere that sees bin Laden as their champion against their own government.

We need only provide the same type of support to the similarly situated populaces of the Arab world today. If we opt instead to weigh in on the side of the status quo, on the side of continued support and Enablement of these despotic regimes, we will only delay the inevitable, and increase the risks to our populaces at home of terrorist attacks.

Or maybe we need to back off and stop messing in other people's affairs on either side of the fence. It's not a choice between supporting the despot or supporting the populace... we don't have to interfere at all. Do we have any reason to believe that these populaces want us messing around in their internal affairs?