But the diplomatic framework needed to be in place as well. I.e. an additional UN security council decision. That's were things fell apart. A shame really. It would have been the golden opportunity to remove Saddam from power without looking like crazy crusaders to the Islamic world. Would have saved the US so much in blood and money.
UN security council decisions take time. This is a flaw in the system but moving in without a solid resolution and support from the Arab league would have introduced serious risks of additional blow-back.
At any rate as far as UN security resolutions go this one came at lighting speed. Really seems to illustrate that the euros are much better at this diplomacy thing.
I am still surprised the Chines let it pass. After all they went Qaddafi on their own people not too long ago.
Just to pick from your list two of the worst offenders:
Zimbabwe and Myanmar
If there was an opening to topple these regimes it'll be criminal neglect on any Western government to not pursue the opportunity.
Just because stupid US neo-cons have given humanitarian intervention a bad name doesn't mean there aren't times when they are required and successful. Just asked the people of Sarajevo how they feel about it.
The rational for the Iraq war that was initially pushed was "weapons of mass destructions". Humanitarian arguments were mostly introduced after the fact to see what would stick to sell the war.
Finally there is an opening to get back at Gaddafi.
This war effort makes for some strange allies because Gaddafi managed to sorely piss off so many factions. Interesting find at Juan Cole's blog:
A note: The resolution was co-sponsored by the Lebanese government, in which the Shiite party Hizbullah (Hezbollah) is a leading element. In part, Lebanon was representing the Arab League, which in some ways was the major political force (along with Britain and France) pushing for world action. But in other ways something more personal was going on.
When I was working for a newspaper in Beirut in 1978, I translated wire service reports on the disappearance of the great Shiite leader Mousa al-Sadr while on a trip to Libya. He was likely murdered by Qaddafi and put in a grave somewhere there. I once attended a lecture by Sadr in Beirut. He was a great man, charismatic and a force for uplift in his community and for outreach to other communities. He probably went to Libya in an attempt to convince Qaddafi not to send any more weapons to the factions there (such arms shipments and factionalization contributed to the long Lebanese Civil War). Lebanese Shiites, including Hizbullah, still lionize Mousa al-Sadr and despise Qaddafi.
Payback is a bitch.
Have you ever heard of any other military intervention where the US was aligned with Hezbollah?
At this point neither of these despotic regimes have lost whole cities that they subsequently attacked with air raids and heavy armored infantry.
On the other hand your point is well taken. These evil regimes are of strategic and paramount economic interest to the Western world. A civil war in Saudi Arabia is a sure way to bring the world economy to a screeching halt. Unfortunately the totally corrupt House of Saud shows no signs to move towards meaningful reform. At this point there is no reason to expect this to end well.
Unfortunately the racially charged atmosphere in the US makes it easy to misread your originally comment as racially tinged - even if there was no such intend on your part.
Hey, at least you have an idea now why it probably was modded down originally (Disclaimer: I didn't mod it down, but given how I misread it I may have had I moderated that day).
The reason you were modded down originally is because you bought hook line and sinker into the racial stereotype about the post Katrina situation in New Orleans. That's why you attracted the more explicit ugliness expressed by the AC's comment to your posting.
China is also very much investing into Wind power and solar.
They strongly and wisely pursue every viable alternative to fossil fuel. Thorium reactors are obviously an important part of this but the Chinese are way too smart to put all their eggs into one basket.
Very informative and insightful comment. Just one quibble:
The government's fiscal policies were sound but regulation wasn't. If the real estate market was as strictly regulated in Ireland as it is here in Germany their banks wouldn't have collapsed under the weight of a housing bubble.
The journalist is from the periodical of the German automobile club ADAC (i.e. the German equivalent to AAA). They report on the drive here (Sorry again in German).
You'd expect the journalist would have noticed if there was a conventional engine involved - although he was not allowed on board so that still leaves some room for doubt.
... is understandable especially since this comes out of left field. Yet, if this was fraudulent they either managed to get the German government to go along with it or managed to snooker the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The latter reports about this on their official governmental web site and take credit for funding the technology (German). The current Minister Rainer Brüderle was also very happy to have a photo op with the record braking vehicle.
If this was fraudulent somebody's political career just ended.
If I am not mistaken though this sets legal precedence. I.e. state secrets in torture case will always trump your right to due processes if this ruling stands. This is about equivalent to saying "sure we grant you habeas corpus unless we feel its against national interests". Since the latter is classified there won't be any recourse.
A right that has been so undermined in court seems hardly worth the paper its printed on.
The wikipedia entry that you link to has not yet been updated to reflect the recent ruling of United States Court Of Appeals 9th circuit i.e. the one that I referenced in my original comment.
IMHO this is a major throw back for habeas corpus in the US and I am flabbergasted that the MSM hardly gives it any play.
... contained how to conform to US export restrictions. The regulations are ludicrous and it is extremely easy to run afoul. E.g. having a foreign visitor glimpsing a concept at a whiteboard can be counted as an export of classified ideas.
I worked in Germany, the US and now Canada for the same employer. I can legally work in all these places. One thing is for sure - if I ever start my own shop it won't be in the US. Any meaningful business has to be global these days and the US is just not as open to that than either Canada or Europe.
My question to you then is: What has been driving the waxing and waning? What I am concerned about is the absence of any groundswell push back against the current waning (and no, the misguided and gullible Tea Partyers do not qualify).
As long as Americans are sleeping on the wheel and don't react to the slow but systematic erosion of their freedoms there will be no stopping it.
Slashdot Mirror
If the perpetrators sit in the UN security council it is very hard to get a resolution against them.
That would have been the time to do it.
But the diplomatic framework needed to be in place as well. I.e. an additional UN security council decision. That's were things fell apart. A shame really. It would have been the golden opportunity to remove Saddam from power without looking like crazy crusaders to the Islamic world. Would have saved the US so much in blood and money.
UN security council decisions take time. This is a flaw in the system but moving in without a solid resolution and support from the Arab league would have introduced serious risks of additional blow-back.
At any rate as far as UN security resolutions go this one came at lighting speed. Really seems to illustrate that the euros are much better at this diplomacy thing.
I am still surprised the Chines let it pass. After all they went Qaddafi on their own people not too long ago.
Just to pick from your list two of the worst offenders:
Zimbabwe and Myanmar
If there was an opening to topple these regimes it'll be criminal neglect on any Western government to not pursue the opportunity.
Just because stupid US neo-cons have given humanitarian intervention a bad name doesn't mean there aren't times when they are required and successful. Just asked the people of Sarajevo how they feel about it.
It will be hard to find anybody as surreal and deranged as Qaddafi.
The rational for the Iraq war that was initially pushed was "weapons of mass destructions". Humanitarian arguments were mostly introduced after the fact to see what would stick to sell the war.
All this is well documented.
Nice try though.
I submit the Lockerbie bombing
Finally there is an opening to get back at Gaddafi.
This war effort makes for some strange allies because Gaddafi managed to sorely piss off so many factions. Interesting find at Juan Cole's blog:
Have you ever heard of any other military intervention where the US was aligned with Hezbollah?
Are you seriously suggesting you don't know why the US got involved there?
At this point neither of these despotic regimes have lost whole cities that they subsequently attacked with air raids and heavy armored infantry.
On the other hand your point is well taken. These evil regimes are of strategic and paramount economic interest to the Western world. A civil war in Saudi Arabia is a sure way to bring the world economy to a screeching halt. Unfortunately the totally corrupt House of Saud shows no signs to move towards meaningful reform. At this point there is no reason to expect this to end well.
Tried this once. Remember Somalia?
Military humanitarian interventions when aligned with economic interests seem to be pragmatic in comparison.
And this is a truly internationally sanctioned intervention quite different from the (incredibly stupid) Iraq war of aggression.
The goal is to reduce Gaddafi's military capabilities and assets to a point that allows the rebels to survive and hopefully regroup.
Fair enough. I am currently reading Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" and it is eye opening in how long the US elites have been playing the divide an conquer games to stay in control.
Unfortunately the racially charged atmosphere in the US makes it easy to misread your originally comment as racially tinged - even if there was no such intend on your part.
Hey, at least you have an idea now why it probably was modded down originally (Disclaimer: I didn't mod it down, but given how I misread it I may have had I moderated that day).
A much more insightful analysis can be found here.
The reason you were modded down originally is because you bought hook line and sinker into the racial stereotype about the post Katrina situation in New Orleans. That's why you attracted the more explicit ugliness expressed by the AC's comment to your posting.
China is also very much investing into Wind power and solar.
They strongly and wisely pursue every viable alternative to fossil fuel. Thorium reactors are obviously an important part of this but the Chinese are way too smart to put all their eggs into one basket.
The first equation doesn't have a real number solution hence the substitution in step 5 is incorrect.
Very informative and insightful comment. Just one quibble:
The government's fiscal policies were sound but regulation wasn't. If the real estate market was as strictly regulated in Ireland as it is here in Germany their banks wouldn't have collapsed under the weight of a housing bubble.
Use nothing but my Laptop as IT consultant yet my wife and I are now expecting our third child.
Certainly not recommended for birth control.
The journalist is from the periodical of the German automobile club ADAC (i.e. the German equivalent to AAA). They report on the drive here (Sorry again in German).
You'd expect the journalist would have noticed if there was a conventional engine involved - although he was not allowed on board so that still leaves some room for doubt.
... is understandable especially since this comes out of left field. Yet, if this was fraudulent they either managed to get the German government to go along with it or managed to snooker the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The latter reports about this on their official governmental web site and take credit for funding the technology (German). The current Minister Rainer Brüderle was also very happy to have a photo op with the record braking vehicle.
If this was fraudulent somebody's political career just ended.
And there is a very easy fix for that. This is not a new concept. E.g. you would have noticed it if you watched 2001 attentively.
Mod this up.
This is exactly the point and it is why the German press covered this under the headline "Switzerland's present to Europe".
If I am not mistaken though this sets legal precedence. I.e. state secrets in torture case will always trump your right to due processes if this ruling stands. This is about equivalent to saying "sure we grant you habeas corpus unless we feel its against national interests". Since the latter is classified there won't be any recourse.
A right that has been so undermined in court seems hardly worth the paper its printed on.
The wikipedia entry that you link to has not yet been updated to reflect the recent ruling of United States Court Of Appeals 9th circuit i.e. the one that I referenced in my original comment.
IMHO this is a major throw back for habeas corpus in the US and I am flabbergasted that the MSM hardly gives it any play.
... contained how to conform to US export restrictions. The regulations are ludicrous and it is extremely easy to run afoul. E.g. having a foreign visitor glimpsing a concept at a whiteboard can be counted as an export of classified ideas.
I worked in Germany, the US and now Canada for the same employer. I can legally work in all these places. One thing is for sure - if I ever start my own shop it won't be in the US. Any meaningful business has to be global these days and the US is just not as open to that than either Canada or Europe.
My question to you then is: What has been driving the waxing and waning? What I am concerned about is the absence of any groundswell push back against the current waning (and no, the misguided and gullible Tea Partyers do not qualify).
As long as Americans are sleeping on the wheel and don't react to the slow but systematic erosion of their freedoms there will be no stopping it.