Libya

Between work and commute, however limited time that’s left, I have been obsessing, much like the rest of you I suppose, with the events in Libya. So here are a few random thoughts for what they’re worth.

Both Daniel Ortega and Hugo Chavez have now definitely climbed up my manure list.

As heart wrenching as the scenes coming out of Libya have been, it seems to me that the Libyan insurgency is doing rather well considering the ferocity of the repression unleashed upon them.

Gaddafi seems to be losing more cities everyday.

I am not convinced Military intervention by outside forces can be productive for now. After all, the maze of relations and loyalties that are being contested, reevaluated and renegotiated might be unpredictably affected (I propose here negatively) by any overt military measures.

Besides, given the unprecedented revolutionary upheaval in the region at large, and the long and arduous road ahead, I am not convinced it's productive to have a precedent set whereby some faction or other might entertain the idea that at some point they can goad outside powers into fighting their battles for them.

And frankly given the track record of the Western powers in bombing, murder, mayhem, and torture of late in multiple fronts, I have no desire to see any more direct involvements. Let’s just focus on finishing--with as little further damage as possible--what has been ongoing for close to a decade now.

You want to put your money where your mouth is insist on ending these affairs and impose a one year moratorium on sale of any types of weapons to all Middle Eastern States until the dust from these popular uprisings settle.

Last but not least, the Unhinged Right in the US has been depressing to watch. American foreign policy under President Obama leaves a lot to be desired. But give it a rest already with the cheap shots, one-liners, and selective photo posts.

It is very easy to figure out where the giants of US industry and finance have been and whom they have been employing in their dealings with the ‘Mad Dog of the Middle East.”

And not exclusively business people either from the US. Hence some of the other telling photos on top for the collection.