To quote Freddie Mercury of Queen, “Another one bites the dust.”
Libya has exploded in violence and rage not seen in the Arab Muslim world since last week in Egypt and UC Irvine.
Yet unlike UC Irvine, this Arab Muslim rage is positive. Moammar Khadafi is on the verge of being overthrown as dictator for life in Libya.
The entire Arab world has finally risen up. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and You-tube have allowed the flow of information to be imported and exported en masse. There is no way to contain the people any more. They want to be free.
In 1989 it was Hungary, Poland, and the former Soviet Republics. 2011 brings Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and yes, Iran. The Mullahs at this very minute know that their time in power is limited.
The Arab protesters are not paid leftist mercenaries roaming from Wisconsin to Ohio looking for things to actually do. These are people who have faced true oppression and are finally standing up for their basic rights as human beings and creatures of God.
(For those wondering where Barack Obama is, he has been relegated to appearing in parentheses. He does not care about Libya. He cares about Wisconsin, and is most likely enraged with God for dumping 13 inches of snow on the protesters. Paid mercenaries tend to flee in bad weather. Also, the price of gasoline exploding due to the situation in Libya is forbidden from being broached by American journalists. Since there is no way to blame it on Dick Cheney or Halliburton, the media will ignore it.)
Picture the protesters in Libya as being like Moveon.org, except with an actual purpose.
If the First Community Organizer in Chief had an ounce of courage, he would issue a strongly worded statement in favor of the protesters and demand that Khadafi leave now. Sending Hillary Clinton out to offer standard State Department blather doesn’t cut it.
The entire Arab Muslim world is looking to America for emotional support. The word “emotion” is not something Mr. Obama is known for, especially since the selfish creatures in the Middle East are more concerned with avoiding bullets than getting passionate about cap and trade or high speed rail.
To Mr. Obama’s consternation and chagrin, the world is going to go on without him. The chains of dictatorship and tyranny are being broken. The people will be free. It will be violent, bloody, and painful. It will also be worth it.
For those worrying that the new government taking over will be worse than the current evil, this is nothing more than an excuse to maintain the untenable status quo.
“Realpolitik” should cease to exist. Propping up dictators because they are “our” dictators should be abolished forever as American policy. “Stability” is phony. Secular democracy is real.
Stability has brought us temporary respites between a string of unending crises.
Those claiming that democracy and Islam are incompatible deserve to be confined to the ash heap of badly written history.
The Arab Muslim will be free. Americans can either support people shedding their own blood for freedom, or we can offer meaningless platitudes about caution and calm.
We can follow the lead of George W. Bush, who overthrew two murderous regimes and set up fledgling secular democracies.
Alternatively we can slink behind Barack Obama, who is more concerned about his own reelection in 2012 than in making a single bold statement to help Arab Muslims in 2011.
Everything in this world flows from doing what is right. Giving people human dignity is right. Supporting those who suppress this dignity is wrong.
In 2008 Barack Obama supporters insufferably babbled about “hope,” “change,” and “Yes, we can.” Those were meaningless vacuous phrases that have impacted the world with all the intensity of Rip Van Winkle after a Nyquil binge. Yet in Libya words are actually be transferred into meaningful actions that could benefit the world for decades if not generations to come.
It is imperative that Americans stand up and do everything in our power to encourage secular democracy in Libya.
Just because our own leader refuses to lead by example does not mean we have to be as politically impotent as he is.
Long after he has been forgotten, the Libyan people need to remember that the average American cared.
Khadafi Duck, you have quacked your last soliloquy.
It is time for Libya to be liberated.
It is time for the next domino in the worldwide freedom movement to fall.
It is time for you to go.
eric
The arrogance of Americans never ceases to amaze me.
The other day I was listening to an interview with an Egyptian protester who was asked what he would like America to do regarding this whole uprising. He said, “Nothing.” A crowd around him wholeheartedly agreed. They do not want us to get involved. They do not want some arrogant decree from Washington. They do not want intervention of any kind. They want us to stay out of it and leave them to steer their own course. It’s not that they hate us. They just want to find their own way. They also are not stupid – they understand the baggage that comes with America in that part of the world. They do not want their movement to be tarred as American intervention. It is THEIR movement. It has nothing to do with us. It has nothing to do with Iraq and Afghanistan. It has nothing to do with George Bush of Barack Obama. If they ask for us, then we should be there for them. If they do not, we should keep our arrogant opinions and actions to ourselves.
JMJ
“There is no way to contain the people any more. They want to be free.’
Be careful.
Weve seen what those “freedom fighters” are capable of.
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“If they do not, we should keep our arrogant opinions and actions to ourselves.”
Yeah right.
Must be nice on the squishy warm planet full o rainbows.
Its starting to look like the Brotherhood is gonna have some serious say in the next government.
If their “freedom” threatens my freedom you can betchera$$ I’d perform an intervention before another 3000 Americans get killed.
What was it they said one week into the uprising ?
“Prepare for war with Israel” ?
Iran is rattling its sabers in the Suez, Egyptian protestors everywhere holding various violent effigies of America.
Polls across the board show the majority sympathize with or condone radical Islam or Sharia.
Thats real niiiiiiiice…
The Tazmanian devil high on meth for three weeks wants freedom
Or, the radical Muslims and Muslim Brotherhood, can fill in the gaps created, join with Iran and Turkey, and Hez and Hamas, in their ultimate
goal of making Palestine (Eastern and Western) Judenrein. ( No Jews).
Looking at the mobs, can we all appreciate what if, what if Israel had
lost but one war?
Michael Oren in his book about the Six Day War, reveals
what would happen. Its too horrible to think of.
Iran has already announced it has 40,000 suicide bombers ready
to blast US interests, Jews worldwide and Christians ( “infidels”).
But I have a plan. Lets assume for a moment, that that Israel
had some guts, and bought one way tickets for the Palestinians in their
midst, to Libya, which has the room (size of Texas) and the gelt (oil wealth). Two problems resolved.
Or, another scenario. Egypt’s 500,000 man army invades Libya
and brings down the government. Egypt then annexes the entire
country, with its oil wealth and land, sort of like the German invasion
of Russia, w/o the winter.
Okay, so we have one country, half the size of the US, with 50m people,
and lots of G-d given oil. Your average Egyptian benefits..Libya is rid
of its dictator, and there is also space fot Abbas, Erekat and Ashwari
and their people.
Presto, the M.E. crisis is solved once and for all, and everyone is happy.
The Pales get land, and a seaport with no embargo. Egypt’s pop gets
oil and Libya gets the Suez.
But knowing Obama, he will go to Wisconsin..and lecture everyone
on how this country fought for union rights, with many having died,
the black and Hispanic causes and why the building of houses
and yeshivas in the Jewish settlements is an impediment to world
stability.
To Obama, go back to Illinois in 2 years, and let someone with
balls take over, like Sarah Palin.
I do worry about Israel with all this unrest. Even a relatively liberal Arab state could turn on Israel, let alone another radical theocracy. I do notice something, though, and it’s very heartening: Israel is not the bad guy in the revolutionaries’ minds.
I think our very smart, very good host put something very well here: “Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and You-tube have allowed the flow of information to be imported and exported en masse. There is no way to contain the people any more. They want to be free.”
Micky, you shouldn’t have selectively quoted that. He was connecting the two points, not prognosticating. I’m certain the Tygrrrr is quite aware of the potential problems with Arab democratization. We all should think about that. When it comes to that, I’m as much “pro-Israel” as he. If things turn ugly, we Americans have a big responsibility. We have no choice but to defend Israel. It’s the right thing to do.
What our good host first posited is that the more socially connected people become, the more they will yearn for freedom. The better the society, the happier the people, the more likely freer they are. It’s as simple as that. As new technologies allow more and more people to become interconnected throughout the world, people find more and more they have in common, and being “free” is tops among their mutual interests. So, when a young Egyptian blogs about politics with a young American, they realize, ‘Wow. These people actually argue about things like whether to decrease class sizes, or whether to build a new road system, while we worry about whether our wives will be raped if we don’t pay some partisan for the right to sell corn at the local market.’
This new global cyber-society is changing the world. That’s great!
And ya’ know guys – we’re a part of that! We are interested people who care about the world around us and it’s future! We should try to contact some of those people in the uprisings! We get to do this for fun, while they fear for their lives just for complaining to a neighbor about crime. We should reach out. Obama really can’t. We individual Americans can.
Man, Eric, if you tried to do that, and you have the gravitas, you could become a star overnight. Just take it easy with the ideology. Let them speak for themselves. I gaurantee you like what they say, for the most part.
We’re very different guys, but we agree to disagree, we argue, sometimes heatedly, without ever considering each other bad people, or wishing harm on each other. This is what the Arab world needs. And remember, I say “Arab,” not Muslim. It’s the Arab world that’s going through this. Islam, we can deal with. It’s just a religion, after all.
JMJ
“Israel is not the bad guy in the revolutionaries’ minds.”
Hey ! You ! Out there in Lala land !
I got one word for you!
“IRAN”!!!
“It’s just a religion, after all. ”
yup, you’re in lala land alright.
until these people stop using religion as their primary source of leadership and actually “”TRULY”” become secular and tolerant we wont see any change for them or the betterment of the world.
A rat can live in a cage half its life and think a bigger cage is freedom
Iran is what happens when we do get involved, Micky. Don’t forget that. And remember too, that regime is now very unpopular at home.
People turn away from radical religion when their lives improve. It’s a ckicken and egg thing, Micky. Religion is not the source of the disease, just bad medicine.
JMJ
Every junkie/alky I’ve known has improved his life due to faith.
If you’re gonna focus just on “radical” religion…thats a whole nuther argument