Some short takes. Pretty seriously under the gun these days (figuratively, though, not literally as many just now). Just make mention of a few serious setbacks this week.
Wisconsinitis. Got to hand it to the GOP – they are good at the old sucker punch. Gov. Scott Walker and his political allies were determined to curtail union organizing rights, and they succeeded via political maneuvers that their Democratic opponents would never dare attempt on the state or national level. Always the way, it seems: Republicans are willing to push to the wall, no matter how unpopular the position. Democrats tend only to push their own base to the wall. The situation is, if anything, worse in Michigan, where not only are union rights being curtailed but the republicans have passed legislation that enables them to dismiss local elected officials under certain vague “crisis” circumstances and replace them with hired hacks, perhaps corporate subcontractors. Pretty ugly stuff.
Of course, as we know, elections have consequences. If you give a drunk a gun, don’t be surprised when s/he shoots you in the ass. (Lesson leftover from the Bush administration.) But the warning goes both ways. If you shoot someone in the ass, don’t be surprised if s/he kicks yours a little later on.
Libya redux. The opposition to Qadaffi’s government is seriously outgunned, largely thanks to the Western governments now threatening to send the strong man and his crew to The Hague. And yet, with respect to the no fly zone, I’ve found myself agreeing with Defense Secretary Gates in that it is not simply a matter of putting a few flights in the sky above Tripoli. Such a policy would entail a full on assault against Libya – no other way to accomplish it. When they put the zones in place in Iraq in 1991 (after many thousands were killed), it was following an attack that destroyed Iraq’s capacity to fight back. If we were to proceed today, it would involve killing many Libyans, attacking a sovereign African state, and all that those things entail. Seriously…. aren’t there other ways to help?
Afghanistan. Word has it that we’ve started pounding Afghanistan in a more serious way, since the counterinsurgency tactic is proving itself an unmitigated failure. Where is this headed, after ten years? Back to bombarding villages into oblivion? We are manufacturing future enemies – that’s all we’re accomplishing. In the words of the late Molly Ivins: Get. Out. Now.
luv u,
jp
I’ve heard many helpful suggestions about what we can do to help the Libyan rebels – everything from cat calls to military invasion. That last one worries me a bit. Frankly, I think the best thing western countries can do is just not buy oil from the regime, freeze assets, etc. We’ve floated him in much the same way that we support and have supported other despots in the region and elsewhere in the world, from Saddam Hussein in the 1980s to Hosni Mubarak three weeks ago. As always, it’s all about the money. What else would put him two seats down from Obama at an international conference? (Expect to see THAT picture during the 2012 campaign.)