Sally and I went to Bloomington and heard Natan Sharansky speak at Indiana University last night. It probably comes as no surprise that he expects nothing to come out of the Annapolis conference. And he’s right. Until we stop propping up dictators and force them to create civil society as a prerequisite to trade and aid, and until we start supporting the democratic dissidents in their societies, we have no right to expect anything but the status quo.
The biggest foolishness that we’re engaged in now is our refusal to support the democratic resistance in Iran. Enough money and arms in the right place and not a single American serviceman would have to die to overthrow the mullahs. Iran is like Georgia in 1865 — “pierce the shell and it’s all hollow.” Although in this case the totalitarian shell is filled with the creamy goodness of the desire for freedom. (Or maybe I should just be placed on metaphor watch…)
A "surly curmudgeon[], suspicious and lacking in altruism." (Robert A. Heinlein)