Monday, March 21, 2011

Many, Many Nonviolent Options In Libya

BENGHAZI, LIBYA - FEBRUARY 25:  Halifa Awad Ta...Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe idea never was to bomb Gaddafi into submission. The military action has been designed to make sure he does not unleash animal brutality upon peaceful protesters. Otherwise there were mass protests already in Tripoli. Once Gaddafi has been neutralized, the thing for the Libyan opposition to do is to organize peaceful protests all over again, with the international community standing by. Could you bring a hundred thousand people out into the streets of Tripoli? That is the question. The idea is not for the Libyan opposition to outgun Gaddafi's forces. That never was the idea. The idea always was to win through nonviolent methods.

Come out into the streets all over again. Do it again in Benghazi. Organize peaceful marches in support of democracy. Do that is cities all across Libya. Finally do it in Tripoli. Gaddafi has to go. That is the only acceptable outcome.

Days of military action followed by a few weeks of nonviolent street action. That is the recipe for success.
BENGHAZI, LIBYA - FEBRUARY 25:  Children visit...Image by Getty Images via @daylife
And if Gaddafi performs a repeat and unleashes animal brutality upon those peaceful protesters, take him out. Sometimes you don't get to take the criminal to court. He gets gunned down because he decided to fight to the end.

Ultimately It Is About Iran, Because That Is Where It All Started
Syria's Turn
The Anatomy Of Revolutions For Democracy
Enhanced by Zemanta

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Ultimately It Is About Iran, Because That Is Where It All Started

Key Petroleum Sector facilities (2004) Iran (W...Image via WikipediaSyria's Turn

Tunisia was a warm up act. Egypt was a warm up act. Libya is a warm up act. Yemen, and Bahrain will be warm up acts. Saudi Arabia will be a warm up act, as Syria and Jordan. Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates. They all will be warm up acts.

And then Iran will wake up all over again. All this is in preparation for Iran. Because that is where it all started. The people of Iran woke up in 2009. And we are reaping the rewards today in all these other countries.

But the final push has to be made in Iran itself. The mullahs are unpleasant people. They need to go.

Iran Re-Revolution: Victory In 2011
Protest Rally At The UN
Selling 5% Of Nobel For 50K
September 23 Iran Democracy Protests NYC
Shout Allah O Akbar From The Rooftops Every Night 10-10:30 PM
To: The Ayatollah
Claiming A Netroots/Grassroots Leadership Role With Iran Democracy Movement
Democracy Success In Iran Could Be A 1989 Repeat
Hillary's Latest On Iran
States Will Interact With Each Other
Iran Protest: 9/23
Twitter For Fundraising
Coat of arms of the Islamic Republic of Iran. ...Image via WikipediaThe Ayatollah: Guilty Of Blasphemy
Competing With Hillary Now
Prominent Iranian Americans
Iran Democracy Activist, Tech Blogger, New Yorker
Iran: A Brief Survey Through Time Magazine
Iran, Democracy, Facebook
Total Transparency With My Iran Work
Facebook And Iran
Iran Democracy Organizations
Iran Feelers To The CIA And The California Society For Democracy In Iran
Iran, Iran, Iran
Iran On My Mind
Iran: Am I Running Late? Maybe Not
Please Fund My Work For Iran Democracy: Email
Shifting To A Major Iran Focus
Iran, Obama 2010, Reshma 2010
Iran
United Arab Emirates F-16 Block 60 taking off ...Image via WikipediaIran: The World Has Wasted A Year
Iran: An Opportunity
Iran: Yes, We Can
How We Have Failed Iran
Dumb White People (DWPs) And Iran
The Fraud In Iran
Iran: This Is What I Am Talking About
Enhanced by Zemanta

Syria's Turn

(en) Syria Location (he) מיקום סוריהImage via Wikipedia
New York Times: In Syria, Crackdown After Protests: Protests broke out in four Syrian cities on Friday, the first large-scale demonstrations here since the pro-democracy uprisings began in the Arab world three months ago. Brutal police crackdowns followed, leaving six people dead and scores injured..... In the largest protests, several thousand people gathered in the center of Dara’a, in southern Syria, chanting “God, Syria and freedom only” ..... A Facebook page, “the Syrian revolution 2011,” has called on people to protest against corruption and repression. ..... Small protests in the capital on Tuesday and Wednesday were violently dispersed by the authorities, who arrested scores of demonstrators. The state news service, SANA, dismissed those protests as the work of outside agitators. ..... about 20 youths who had written graffiti complaining about the high cost of living and calling for more freedoms...... “They used live ammunition immediately, no tear gas or anything else”
Democracy in Syria, as in Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia or Libya, or in Iran, is not Britain's business, it is not the business of France, it is most definitely not the business of the United States of America. But when the people rise and take to the streets to peacefully protest, if any actor, any entity, any apparatus, any organization, any state structure, or mafia group, or a terrorist group, or a clan, or royal family, or an army, or a police force decides to unleash animal brutality upon those peaceful protesters, not just the US or Britain or France, but the entire community of nations on the planet has to stand up for them, and there are many, many nonviolent options. You impose global travel bans on all members of the regime, you freeze their assets, you issue strict warnings of vocal support, you extend moral support, you offer logistical support, maybe they need a few laptops, a few camera phones, medical supplies perhaps, and you give the offenders a little time, all the time making it absolutely clear unleashing animal brutality is not acceptable, and of course you press charges against them in the International Criminal Court, and you issue Interpol warrants for their arrests. And if they don't stop still, then you go to the UN Security Council for the final act. That final act still fits the definition of non violence. The violence against Hitler's regime fit the definition of non violence.

Or some monarchs in the region could do the smart thing and not unleash animal brutality upon their people and request that they be turned into constitutional monarchs. That is a legitimate option. But that is not an option still on the table after you have unleashed animal brutality upon peaceful protesters.

2011 is to be democracy's biggest year in world history. China itself is fair game. Russia is fair game. And the fuck with Mugabe.
a map of the Arab WorldImage via Wikipedia
Khalifa Of Bahrain Must Go
The Two Abdullahs Need To Go
The Response To Benghazi Has To Be In Tripoli
The Military Options
Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
Barack Obama: My Man
Barack Obama Proved Me Wrong On Race And Libya
Don't Let Benghazi Fall
Gaddafi Just Did The Bin Laden Thing: He Threatened America
Democracy's Despair
North Korea In Sight
Secretary Hillary
John Kerry Has The Solution
No Fly Zone Or Massacre
Saudi Arabi Next
Talk to Jazeera: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
The Anatomy Of Revolutions For Democracy

Friday Prayer: Let A Million Libyans March In Tripoli
Democracy With Lowest Possible Losses Of Human Lives
Gaddafi Is No Simon Bolivar
No Fly Zone Or Surgical Strikes
If Gaddafi Is Not President, It Should Be Easier For Him To Leave
Sound Military Options
Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar
Make Surgical Strikes, Take The Guy Out
Kick Ortega Out
The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta