Rhetorical question is rhetorical

[mahnmut]

One question sticks out in the whole Malian situation. How come some rebels (in Libya) are of the good guys, while other rebels (in Mali) are of the bad guys? Gaddafi was also fighting Al Qaeda, among other groups. And Libya, after the West-supported victory of the rebels hasn't become either more modern, or more democratic, or more peaceful - just on the contrary. It's looking very similar to Somalia. The parallels between the two neighboring countries are inescapable. So really - why these rebels are bad while those are good?

Comments

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

"Most are fairly grey and depend on what political alliances are convenient."

Yes, that's the point.

"overall they were definitely toppling a dictator that had done plenty of terrible things"

Saddam also did terrible things, which didn't prevent the West from supporting him against Iran - until he became expendable. I don't think I'm that naive.

It's true that the Tuareg nationalist movement has been hijacked by Islamists. But it's not like it met applause from the West even at the time when it wasn't yet hijacked. It's just that the Malian regime is friendly to the West and France in particular, the same way Mubarak's regime was convenient for the West and the US in particular.

It's all a matter of Realpolitik, and the fact that most of these issues are grey rather than black-and-white, doesn't help much, either.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

Saddam also did terrible things, which didn't prevent the West from supporting him against Iran - until he became expendable.

I agree totally that he should never have been supported.

But it's not like it met applause from the West even at the time when it wasn't yet hijacked

Yeah they were sort of overthrowing a democratically elected government, one of the more stable ones in the region. You might not have noticed but western countries don't tend to like that. Especially democratically elected governments that are friendly.

Most of these issues are gray, but I don't believe in black nor white anyways.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

You might not have noticed but western countries don't tend to like that

Tell that to Sadat, Allende and Mossadegh.