A New Kind of American Assertiveness

The Obama administration has been receiving quite a lot of flack with regards to their conduct on recent upheaval in the Middle East.  Some of my favourite writers, such as Barry Rubin, have been claiming that the administration is completely oblivious to the ways of the Middle East and are incapable to get a clear read on it. It's hard to argue with the facts...

But what would you say to the idea that the administration, and American foreign policy in general, simply does not care for the ways of the Middle East and don't care to get a clear read of it?

So the execution is not smooth? Who said they care much for a smooth execution?

Doesn't history show us that American foreign policy is cynical and self serving?

So now I will tie it to what's been going on in the Middle East recently.

Will the US Involve its Military in Egypt?

Egyptian daily 'Al Masry al Youm' is reporting on a subtle hint from US Central Command Chief, General James Mattis:

The United States would respond "diplomatically, economically, militarily" to any closure of the Suez Canal, although such an event seems inconceivable, the head of US Central Command said on Tuesday. 

General James Mattis, who oversees US military operations in an area stretching from Egypt to Pakistan, also said the US had no plans to order its military forces into the region because of instability in North Africa.

"When you look at the fiscal impact of that [closing the Suez canal] on whoever is in a position of authority in Egypt, I just can't imagine the motive to shut that down," Mattis said at a London event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank.

He had been asked if the US would be prepared to act if there were any disruptions to the key shipping channel because of mass protests in Egypt against the 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak.

"Were it to happen, obviously we would have to deal with it diplomatically, economically, militarily, whatever, but that to me is hypothetical and I would defer to the political leaders," he said.

I wonder whether this a subtle warning to Mubarak to not rock the boat at this time. It could also be a subtle hint to whomever is going to end up in charge.

-QP 

Damned if we Do, Damned if we Don't!

America is often criticized for bolstering authoritarian regimes of the most despicable type. It is frequently pointed out that America has a vested interest in its foreign policy dependencies to be repressive, brutal regimes that will strictly protect America's geopolitical aims, at whatever means.

It is true that in the past it has happened. America did help instigate coup d'etat in many cases. They supported militarily regimes of the most unsavory kind.

But is this some foreign policy conspiracy to keep other nations down while America dictates the terms?

I don't think so...

Let's look at some of America's closest allies:

Canada, UK, Australia - Westminster style parliamentary democracy. By all counts, freedom and personal liberties are fairly high.

Germany, Japan - A brutal dictatorship that was transformed under American military occupation into a very free and liberal democratic state.

And of course I can add many more... For example, Israel's typical government survival rate is probably shorter than the president's Press Secretary's typical tenure. 

So why is America of bolstering dictators at the expense of the liberties of its people?

I think the answer is pretty simple... American bolsters cooperative dictators in countries where liberty and democracy are not happening, anyway. I think most would agree that the Shah's autocratic rule is much preferable to the current Islamic Republic. In fact it seems most Iranians would agree!

In the current situation, America is in a position of 'damned if we do, damned if we don't'. If they help Mubarak stay in power, they are accused of supporting an autocrat. If they don't, they will be shamed for dumping their staunchest ally in the region (Israel aside), as our favourite 'liberal democrat' Hugo Chavez did very recently.

Whichever way this revolution goes, it will be bad for Israel, bad for America and probably very bad for Egyptians.

-QP