In late June, China’s Premiere Wen Jiabao surprised his British hosts by calling for more freedom and democracy. Corruption and income disparities were harming China, he told his London audience. Skeptics pointed to China’s recent crackdown on mere talk of a people’s uprising. But Jiabao has consistently called for reforms to safeguard his nation’s economic growth, and his latest message was received with a measure of hope.
That same week in Cambodia, four surviving Khmer Rouge leaders went on trial in Phnom Penh before a United Nations-sponsored tribunal seeking belated justice for an estimated 1.7 million people slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. Few had imagined those responsible would ever be brought to account.
But the most powerful evidence that a crusade for truth and freedom is underway throughout the world is displayed by the courage of thousands of average citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria who braved armed resistance as they demanded removal of tyrants and a voice in their governments.
They have succeeded with minimal bloodshed in Tunisia and Egypt, but Libya is engulfed in a desperate civil war, with NATO forces aligned with insurgents. The outcome there is uncertain. Syria’s armed repression has already taken many lives and no nation has come to the aid of the oppressed.
America’s engagement in these uprisings has been hesitant and selective:
Aggressive military support for insurgents in Libya, on-the-scene diplomatic assistance in Tunisia and Egypt, but only distant pronouncements on Syria. .
America has courted despots who could assure access to oil and would permit us to build airbases on their land. Others let us use their deep water ports to service our Navy. Thus we maneuver carefully in the midst of uprisings to protect our interests, even as we support their people. Our professed values are often in conflict with political and commercial realities.
We work through the United Nations where we can, but do not hesitate to go it alone. America’s military might is second to none and we are called on to be the world’s policeman. Our diplomats are global mediators. And our intelligence services monitor the world. Our drones are so effective that adversaries are in a fierce competition to replicate them.
Precise intelligence, verified by multiple sources, guided a small band of SEALS to Osama bin Laden’s walled compound in Pakistan. Proof that our sleuthing has vastly improved since 9/11.
Lack of communication between the FBI and CIA was a contributing factor in failing to stop terrorists who took over jet airliners and used them as weapons. Flight schools had notified the FBI that Arabic students paying cash had shunned jet simulator instruction on takeoffs and landings and wanted only to learn to control big jets in flight. That they were not apprehended still boggles the mind.
Today the thirst for freedom is palpable and persistent, even in Syria where peaceful demonstrations are met with gunfire, and in other nations where women have suffered second class citizenship for generations, denied the right to vote, to travel alone or drive a car.
Technology aids in the quest for freedom. Instant messages, including photos, are transmitted from hand-held devices to every corner of the earth. Dictators can no longer control communication. But the people can..
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Carlton E. Spitzer
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