Monday, September 04, 2006

This, goes with that, in Sudan.

It's a shame that recognition of an atrocity requires an effective PR campaign before action is taken.
Depending on the location, the politics, the timing and other unrelated factors, a reaction to a human right abuse can be acted on swiftly or not at all.
Take for instance East Timor.
It took 24 years for action to be taken on East Timor. It took elements of the Australian left and right of Politics to agree to taking action. Well publicized images of atrocities after the East Timor Independence Referendum, was the trigger that brought an immediate response. ( Immediate in terms of Post-Independence, their are 24 years of appeasement that went on previously when nothing happened). No protests against Australian troops going to East Timor took place.

Afghanistan.
Under the rule of the evil Taliban for many years. It took S 11 for the world to take notice of Afghanistan's' plight. Some protests against military intervention took place, but an International force eventually liberated Afghans from the Taliban. (The fight is continuing though in some areas).

Iraq.
Saddam Hussein was a mass-murderer and spread war throughout the region. He used chemical weapons on the Kurds, went to war against Iran and Invaded Kuwait. His military was defeated in 1991 but he remained in power. After 12 years of sanctions, Saddam Hussein continued to murder his own citizens and finally he was ousted in 2003. The excuse to finally oust Saddam, was that he was harboring Weapons of Mass Destruction. A huge wave of protest went on around the world saying WMD's did not exist. Protests exist today.
Protesters ignored the fact that Saddam Hussein was a Mass-Murderer and that guns ARE WMD's!!

Sudan.
Attempted Genocide has been taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan for decades. Currently Islamic gangs are riding around in the back of Pick-up trucks carrying out atrocities. Slowly the world is becoming aware of the crisis there. Unfortunately, it is unclear what turn of events will make intervention possible.
As it stands the people of the Darfur region will need luck for something to happen.

Their seems to be a complicated form of world political correctness, in regards to militants under the Islamic banner. While it is plainly obvious that groups like, The Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas, Jemal Islameah and so on, are gangs of murderers, a strange defense of them has cropped up around the world.
I think it's called appeasement, in some cases it's just plain, bloody minded, Anti-American, ignorance. Whatever you call it, groups of thugs from all corners of the earth are getting away with anything they put their minds to, knowing full well that no political impetus exists to stop them.
Western leftist opposition, takes the angle that war is bad. Therefore, nothing should happen. Maybe send a harsh letter or get the UN to waggle a finger, but that's it.
Well the fact is appeasement does not work. The Taliban and Saddam Hussein would still be around if force was not used to oust them. The same goes with Hitler.

So do we have to wait for another S 11, Pearl harbor, Invasion of Poland to react?
Maybe, if the apologists and appeasers don't wake up to themselves.

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