The duties of moderate Muslims
Nakoula Basseley Nakoula or “Sam Bacile,” the man behind the blasphemous YouTube video that has set the Islamic world on fire, may be a twisted man but it is only naive to demand his arrest, and delusional to believe that it would be any sort of a fix to the real problem.
Why America is going to make a big mistake in Libya
With the unfolding of a civil war in Libya — one that is pathetically unbalanced between the arms-bearing pro-Gaddafi forces and the civilian rebels — what action will the international community take? France has officially recognized the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate government of Libya, and the Arab League countries have called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya. It is America’s turn now, and Obama’s excuses for inaction no longer suffice, so America is finally going to make a move — and we’re going to do it wrong.
How America aided the Egyptian disaster
The United States has delivered, on average, $2 billion in aid to Egypt every year since the peace treaty with Israel was signed in 1979. This corresponds almost exactly to the start of Hosni Mubarak’s presidency; after serving as vice president of Egypt since 1975, Mubarak became president in 1981 and remained in power until the recent revolution. Egypt’s economy has declined steadily since Mubarak took the reigns of government.
Autocratic rule is a failing strategy
Of the 22 countries in the Arab League, three posses quasi-democratic governments. The remaining 19 are absolute monarchies, constitutional monarchies or “strong-manned” republics. Each of the three nations that do qualify as being democratic is struggling with its government. Iraq, which had democracy forced upon it by the United States seven years ago, still has an unstable government. Lebanon has a novel crisis in the form of its brand new government, and Palestine still awaits recognition as a state by half the world. It time for the rulers of the Arab League — both the non—democratic and barely democratic countries — to gracefully embrace democracy for the greater good of their people.