Thursday, May 06, 2004
Thank-God Bush Brought Libya Into The Western Fold
What hath Bush boldness wrought? Behold.
And note the date of the arrest of these Bulgarian medics. This case has been watched for years now. The charges are trumped up, an excuse for Libyans, starting at the top with a certain Colonel, not to take responsibility for AIDS happening there.
I wonder if our government will have anything to say about this outrage? Remember, we're talking about dealth penalties here.
This is not to say that Libya's renouncing of both terrorism and nuclear weapons is not a good thing, it is.
It just won't do, though, for the Bush administration to take all the credit for that, and make the entirely implausible claim that Gadhafi was reacting solely to Bush's invasion of Iraq, when we know that much of the credit belongs to the private citizens who survived those lost in the seas off Lockerbie, Scotland, bolstered by its citizens, who formed a special bond with those victims of whom they took such magnificent and generous care, when we know that it was the "families" of the lost, (and if that reminds you of any other families, rightly so, it was from certain of the Lockerbie families that the 9/11 families received advice and guidance), who brought the Colonel to his fiscal knees by suing his ass off, though so predictable and typical of the Bush administration is this ungenerous, ahistorical and utterly arrogant politicla gambit, that it seems pointless to make an issue of it, but even were it true that all such credit accrues to Bush's bold Middle East initiative, that would not be sufficient to justify this administration actively intervening on behalf of these newest victims of Gadhafi.
Am I being too pickey? Well, then note also what had drawn the attention of the international human rights community.
Remember how everything was different after 9/11? Actually, it doesn't require much memory; just this week I've read several references to John Kerry as a 9/10 candidate. I don't disagree that 9/11 was an historical marker. But what if it was, and this administration picked out the wrong lesson and based its policies on the wrong difference? Because after the last week or so, (no convenient single date presents itself, but I'm sure you get history's drift) let me assure you, everything that is done in the name of this government will be viewed in a different light.
Taking sole credit for Libya may work as a piece of intramura political propoganda, but the rest of the world will judge in the harshest possible terms, the failure of this country to ameliorate Libyan behavior towards these seven international medical workers. Will this administration even notice? Support for human rights on an international basis is hard; it is an unyielding and often paradoxical credo, unless, of course, one embraces it on a purely verbal level.
And note the date of the arrest of these Bulgarian medics. This case has been watched for years now. The charges are trumped up, an excuse for Libyans, starting at the top with a certain Colonel, not to take responsibility for AIDS happening there.
I wonder if our government will have anything to say about this outrage? Remember, we're talking about dealth penalties here.
This is not to say that Libya's renouncing of both terrorism and nuclear weapons is not a good thing, it is.
It just won't do, though, for the Bush administration to take all the credit for that, and make the entirely implausible claim that Gadhafi was reacting solely to Bush's invasion of Iraq, when we know that much of the credit belongs to the private citizens who survived those lost in the seas off Lockerbie, Scotland, bolstered by its citizens, who formed a special bond with those victims of whom they took such magnificent and generous care, when we know that it was the "families" of the lost, (and if that reminds you of any other families, rightly so, it was from certain of the Lockerbie families that the 9/11 families received advice and guidance), who brought the Colonel to his fiscal knees by suing his ass off, though so predictable and typical of the Bush administration is this ungenerous, ahistorical and utterly arrogant politicla gambit, that it seems pointless to make an issue of it, but even were it true that all such credit accrues to Bush's bold Middle East initiative, that would not be sufficient to justify this administration actively intervening on behalf of these newest victims of Gadhafi.
Am I being too pickey? Well, then note also what had drawn the attention of the international human rights community.
The suspects have said they were jolted with electricity, beaten with sticks and repeatedly jumped on while strapped to their beds. Two of the women said they were raped
Remember how everything was different after 9/11? Actually, it doesn't require much memory; just this week I've read several references to John Kerry as a 9/10 candidate. I don't disagree that 9/11 was an historical marker. But what if it was, and this administration picked out the wrong lesson and based its policies on the wrong difference? Because after the last week or so, (no convenient single date presents itself, but I'm sure you get history's drift) let me assure you, everything that is done in the name of this government will be viewed in a different light.
Taking sole credit for Libya may work as a piece of intramura political propoganda, but the rest of the world will judge in the harshest possible terms, the failure of this country to ameliorate Libyan behavior towards these seven international medical workers. Will this administration even notice? Support for human rights on an international basis is hard; it is an unyielding and often paradoxical credo, unless, of course, one embraces it on a purely verbal level.
