I love her snark. There virtually is no one better. But, during the Q&A she kind of lost me. I really wonder how many people agree with her view on Egypt and Mubarak. I think the fact that we are willing to stick up for a brutal dictator and say to the people who live under that person Hey Sucks to Be You is one of the reasons that they hate us. But, there are no easy answers in the middle east, so I guess she is saying dance with the devil you know. I am not sure what we can do differently, but to hear it put so bluntly was a little shocking to me.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
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3 comments:
Sounded less like "sucks to be you" and more like, "where were the Democrats when it came to democracy in Iraq"? Where were the Democrats when it came to democracy in Iran in 2010?
The Democrats have always been "good" with the overthrow of dictators who sided with us on policy (Mubarek, The Shah, Musharref, Nicargua in the 80's - the name escapes me), but not so much with dictators who were our enemies (Saddam, A-Jad, Castro, Zelaya, Chavez).
The question she was asked was about the people who lived under that dictator we are friends with? She didn't answer it. Matter of fact she made a joke about it.
As long we are financing people who treat their people brutally we open ourselves up to charges of hypocrisy. I realize it isn't black and white, but our foreign policy of accepting the lesser of two evils has caused problems for us. There is no way to deny that.
I didn't listen to the Q&A, just the speech.
I don't question that we support brutal dictators in certain circumstances, but that is what rules a good bit of the rest of the world. If we stop dealing with those people, we won't be able to influence them and they become open to other influences (China now, the Soviets 30 years ago). Sometimes, it's the practical thing to do in the national interest. I understand that doesn't make it right.
Should we have not supported Stalin in WWII? One can argue that both ways. But not supporting him may have been catastrophic. I can go on for some time with examples, but you get my drift.
Strange bedfellows. My earlier comment stands (in context).
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