Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffi is refusing to step down, and civil war looms on the horizon. Opinions are flying fast and furious over the proper role of the American military and NATO in bringing stability to the region. We should proceed with caution, especially given our shaky moral footing in the middle-east. Undermining protestors by making this an invasion rather than a homegrown revolution could have far-flung consequences.
After decades of botched meddling in other nations’ domestic affairs, American foreign policy reached fever pitch during the Bush administration. More often than not, our meddling has resulted in backlash or terrible unintended consequences, from the installation of right-wing dictators in South America, to the Iranian Islamic Revolution. This doesn’t even take into account the various foolhardy wars we’ve stumbled into, from Vietnam to Iraq. So I come at foreign policy from a very cautious position. I’m not quite a full-on pacifist, but I’m close.
