From: William Gladys <william.gladys@tiscali.co.uk>
Date: Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 8:09 PM
Subject: Fw: West will never learn. We saw what USA did at UN - Western powers must be cautious on Arab unrest
To: world_Politics@googlegroups.com
Cc: Al-Hilal <Al-Hilal@sky.com>
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2987017
Western powers must be cautious on Arab unrest
By MICHAEL DEN TANDT
So we watch as the protests swell across the Middle East -- waves of discontent now bursting into the open in Libya, Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen and Iran. What began in Tunisia and crested in Egypt has become a regional movement.
Where does it lead? This is the question perplexing western governments, as they seek to strike a balance between supporting the Arab democracy movement, while guarding against its potential fallout.
What fallout? Here it's important to be brutally honest: For many years the global economic order has rested on a system whereby pro-Western Arab despots were given carte blanche in their own fiefdoms, in exchange for a stable energy supply.
In the years after 9/11, this became even more overt. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, now deposed, was the leading light in a collection of strongmen who cracked down hard on Islamist radicals in their midst.
The most obvious historical example of this was the First Gulf War, in 1990 -- when a U.S.-led coalition went to war in Saudi Arabia to throw Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, which he'd invaded. Kuwait was no democracy then -- nor is it now.
The people of the Arab world are well aware of the history. There's justifiable anger at a system that set their democratic aspirations to one side for the sake of economic and political expediency. The radical Islamist movement has further complicated the situation, peddling an anti-Israel and anti-western cant that has further radicalized the Arab street. (The author talks of the radical Islamist movement. In place of radical put Resistance to the USA,Monarchical Britain and Israel. He also uses the incorrect word of cant, an entirely erroneous word here. Articles like this are clearly anti-Muslim but deplorable propaganda for an interfering West. William Gladys.)
This is the reality: Western governments are walking a tightrope. They can't openly obstruct Arab democracy movements. To do so would be hypocritical and wrong. Nor can they wholeheartedly endorse them, until it becomes clear where this revolution is headed.
If it takes a theocratic turn, or becomes an anti-Israel mass movement, all bets are off. The Israelis have made it clear they are prepared for any eventuality. For now, Israel remains the only democracy in that part of the world. You are joking surely? Israel a democracy???William Gladys.
That's why the smartest policy now is to do precisely what Ottawa has done so far: Very little. Express guarded support for the legitimate aspirations of the protesters, while urging them to respect the rights of all.
It's not a particularly satisfying position to take. It will draw fire from political idealists. But it is the only responsible thing Canada can say about this now. -- Michael Den Tandt
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Palash Biswas
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