I would have to argue that right now in the world we have an interesting juxtaposition of American activity on the international stage. On one hand, we have sent the US Navy to Japan in a big way. We are rescuing stranded/ trapped Japanese citizens and helping out in a multitude of ways that would take too long to list here. The bottom line is that Americans (represented by their military) are on the scene, ready to help any way possible. It is heartening to see this.
On the other hand, we have Libya. Gadhafi and the rebels have been a tug of war over control of parts of Libya for a few weeks now. It looks like the rebels are currently in retreat due to Gadhafi's overwhelming air superiority. And where are we? The rebels claim to be fighting for their freedom from Gadhafi's repressive grip on Libya. Isn't that something that Americans should support? However, the rebels on the ground, hoping to look skyward and see American planes, only look up to see Gadhafi's air power aimed at them. And, rightly so, they are asking where the Americans are. Unfortunately, their anger towards us is growing.
Quite honestly, I'm not sure about how active we should be in Libya. From what I read, it looks like Britain and France are trying to set up a no fly zone. Should this be Europe's problem rather than America's problem, then? In that case, maybe Japan is Asia's problem. Maybe we should let China and Thailand deal with it. Or (and this is the crux of the issue), maybe there is no substitute for American intervention. When countries/ peoples around the world get in a bind, they turn to us. This isn't necessarily bad, but it is expensive. Of course, this all ties back into the current budget debate. Can we afford to be the world's cop? I'm not sure, but as the old argument goes, if you are in trouble around the world, it's the best feeling in the world to see the American flag on the arm of the soldier coming to your aid.
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Where is the Arab League in all of this? Surely there is an Arab solution to an Arab problem.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not sure American soldiers are the "White Knights" you describe them as, rushing to cure what ails the world. In Iraq and Afghanistan, many non-combatants were lost as a consequence of American action.
Don't forget American presence in Saudia Arabia is allegedly what incited Bin Laden to make war on the U.S.
Great comments, Tanner. The New York Times is reporting about the current "invasion" of Bahrain by Saudi Arabian troops in the past two days, so we might see an Arab solution yet. I think that would be a good thing for the US overall, but maybe not. A war on the Arabian peninsula would wreak havoc on our fragile economy.
ReplyDeleteI think war in the fertile crescent is what got our economy into trouble in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed we'd debate blowing 87 billion on Iraq for 6 months of operations, to debate 8 years later if we should fund NPR.
Looks like we have a no-fly zone. I hope it's Europeans doing all the flying. U.S. has done enough police work.