Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Egypt is in peril - so is the world

The situation in Egypt is one that needs to be solved quickly. The problem with that is there is very few that will do what is needed to bring an end to the chaos. From the outset the Muslim Brotherhood had built a vast amount of distrust with the public. The hope of inclusion preached prior to this round of chaos hade not materialized. Now we have the exact situation that was to be avoided. The situation is exacerbated by The Muslim Brotherhood urging supporters to go into the streets, which only fuels violence. Of course the military had made an illegal move in overthrowing an elected government. In all of this is the reality that democracy favours those with majority of population. In Egypt the majority had been the Muslim Brotherhood. The world was told one thing and then slowly a different governance model was being pushed through. This happens in every democracy that has a majority party in power of government. It is very much mob rule in basic form. This imbalance of power is the basic issue in which democratic governance models must deal. If the world is to have better systems of governance, the balance of power has to be dealt with and Egypt is a classic example of why that is. We also see the imbalance of power within the United Nations, which is to be a pillar of the world. As Egypt falls into total chaos the world can only watch due to sovereignty issues. But there is the issue of the Responsibility to Protect. As a global society we must care enough to make the tough choices. We must stop the total sale of weapons to such areas and work with the sovereign structures to enforce the rule of law. This is the reason we have United Nations forces. Unfortunately we have governments that will sell weapons to both rebels, terrorists and government forces. Just look at what is going on within Syria and Israel. Egypt has started that slide to total state collapse. Sadly we have a chance to stop that slide now but I am not confident we will take the correct steps to end the slide to destruction.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Peace in Afghanistan

At the outset of International Security Alliance Force (ISAF) involvement in Afghanistan there were many people proclaiming the lack of determination needed to finish the job. Those people were right and unfortunately the Taliban and Al Qaeda are two such groups that planned on such a reality. As the conflict drags on, the violence has been increasing while media attention has dropped. There is very little reason for any opposition group to negotiate with the International Security Alliance Force. In absolute reality we must realize that the war in Afghanistan has been a failure for International Security Alliance Forces. Not only has the Afghanistan war been lost but there is a very strong link to the fall of Syria as well. What needs to change to ensure better results? The end of very well proven unsuccessful military strategies can not come soon enough. Bullets and bombs have rarely worked in modern day warfare yet that fact is lost on the hawks. The outcome of the Afghan war was not because the winners have more or better soldiers, equipment or money. The war was won because of determination, patience and total commitment. Sadly these were well known factors concerning the Taliban and Al Qaeda at the outset of the Afghanistan war. Another change we (the world) have to experience is the end of the cold war mentality. There were a few short years where that reality was a possibility. Slowly we are understanding that the cold war is still very much being fought. The years when the Responsibility to Protect had been developed offered a pedestal of hope. The last twelve years have dashed much hope. Finally a change within the United Nations Security Council needs to be made. Veto power and the Permanent Five members have made a complete fool of the entire United Nations Institution and continue to do so. As it stands now, the world is going to experience an increase in violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other areas. How far will this chaos spread is unknown. We must know now that we can not shoot our way through such chaos. The only question now is: Do we have the courage to seek a more peaceful manner of solving violence?