Monday, April 13, 2009
"Root cause"
Listening to State Dept briefing on Somalia ... the spokesman repeats over and over that the proper cure for the piracy problem is to give Somalia a better government. Several military officials and other commentators have been saying the same thing.
Absolute nonsense.
First, the silly Wilson/Bush idea that "democracies don't make war" has been disproved over and over. (Most decisively by Alexander Hamilton!) Any government will make war if it feels the need for money, territory, or power, and it senses a weak spot in its adversary.
Second, the true correlation is exactly backwards. Somalia will not have a chance of gaining a responsible government until the current warlords lose their source of money. As long as they are bringing in the goods and the guns, they will be the dominant power. (See Manweller's Rule.)
Third, we shouldn't care about another country's form of government. We should only care about guarding our own people and property. If stopping piracy happens to leave Somalia with no choice but to adopt a more ordinary government, that's a nice bonus, but it can't be the goal. ¶ 3:12 PM
Absolute nonsense.
First, the silly Wilson/Bush idea that "democracies don't make war" has been disproved over and over. (Most decisively by Alexander Hamilton!) Any government will make war if it feels the need for money, territory, or power, and it senses a weak spot in its adversary.
Second, the true correlation is exactly backwards. Somalia will not have a chance of gaining a responsible government until the current warlords lose their source of money. As long as they are bringing in the goods and the guns, they will be the dominant power. (See Manweller's Rule.)
Third, we shouldn't care about another country's form of government. We should only care about guarding our own people and property. If stopping piracy happens to leave Somalia with no choice but to adopt a more ordinary government, that's a nice bonus, but it can't be the goal. ¶ 3:12 PM
