Intervention

All attitude which leads to a massive attack on any country of the world, and for any sort of reason, is only a cultural interpretation of what people think is “a necessity” and what is not.

There are so many terrible events happening in the world these days (DR Congo…) and nobody is even trying to stop the despair of thousands of miserable humans around the world dying from famine, war, natural disasters and genocides…. while others are busy inaugurating dreamlands in Dubai or using jets to buy bread for their wives.

If a few countries decide to interfere in the affairs of other countries, unless it is in order to save other human beings from a disastrous event, absolutely no other reason can be acceptable in acting as a better person.

If we see a dying child at our neighbor’s house, will we break in and take the baby to the hospital?

Answer 1 - The parents have abandoned the child they are not home and we have to save the child.

Answer 2 - the parents have beaten up the child brutally and we feel that we have to interfere, but we need to call the police to figure it out

Answer 3 - We see the dying child but we don’t know that the child is simply dying of cancer and the parents are actually doing what they can to save their own kid.

Answer 4 - We do interfere, and take the neighbors child to the hospital, but we forget that we have left the kettle on our own oven and we return home to see the house burnt down while we were busy with somebody else’s business.

Faltering Steps

The Iraqi Cabinet has passed a resolution requiring US troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns by 30 June 2009. They have also set a date of 31 December 2011 for the complete withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. The dates are supposedly “set and fixed” and “not subject to circumstances on the ground.” These few tentative steps are resolutions that still need to be approved by the Iraqi Parliament but are signs that Iraq is starting to take a more substantial role in controlling its own future. Like a person recovering from a devastating injury, the road to recovery is slow and painful but requires the full commitment of the individual. Changes can not be forced upon the country by outside forces however well meaning the intent. It will be interesting to see if the incoming administration will allow Iraq to succeed, or fail, on its own. The question now is whether these next few faltering steps will keep the country moving forward on the road to recovery or if it signals the need for indefinite life support by the US.

The Next U.S. President: Barack Obama

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