The Exercise of Vital Powers » Foreign Policy

Mugabe is a dolt

Chris Farris — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:28:16 +0000

He can’t even manage to rig a fake election.

Not a surrender monkey

Chris Farris — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:55:01 +0000

The French finally have a president with some cajones:

Leaping aboard their vessel, he grabbed a camera and harangued the offending snappers in French. His wonderful wife, CÃ©cilia, a former model, acted as interpreter for her voluble husband. The American photographers beat one of the few retreats the yanks have ever made in front of the French, but not before taking pictures of a finger-wagging “Super-Sarko” that instantly went round the world. Paris-Match would have been proud of them.

And if I may engage in some Republican snark, It shouldn’t be surprising that the American Press are the ones who want to surrender at the first signs of opposition.

Liberals and China

Chris Farris — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 22:37:26 +0000

What’s missing from the following list of atorities committed by the Chinese Government: Who knew I could have been writing a book… (Blog for Democracy)?

Hint.

Not Good

Chris Farris — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 13:39:31 +0000

Turkey is so impressed with the EU’s “soft power” and “moral authority” that Ankara has put EU membership on the back burner. Instead:

Semih Idiz, a foreign affairs columnist, goes further: “The EU is off the radar. It has confirmed Turkey’s worst expectations. At present, it’s an irrelevancy.” Vodkapundit – All the News That’s Fit to Drink

IraqSlogger

Chris Farris — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:05:36 +0000

Here is an interesting new Blog/News site founded by the ex-head of CNN.

You can also read the New York Observer’s Profile of the site.

I really like how they plan to report on the little things, price of eggs, what the Kirkuk police blotter says, etc. You can tell a lot about the health of a free market economy by watching the prices of basic commodities.

Foreign Aid

Chris Farris — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 01:23:26 +0000

Free Trade

Chris Farris — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 22:43:37 +0000

Here is an excellent idea. I’m not a big fan of ribbons or bracelets, but I’d take a bumpersticker or t-shirt. They need a logo though.

More MidEast Fun

Chris Farris — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 14:03:04 +0000

David Bernstein, just back from a trip to Israel, reports that the opinion on the Jewish Street is that the IDF should take whatever actions necessary to prevent Iran from getting the bomb. I have to wonder if this isn’t exactly what the Iranian government wants. They know that if they get a bomb and use it, they will get obliterated, and their radioactive smoldering remains will be international pariahs among the west and moderate Muslims. However, if they can provoke a conflict with Israel, they know they put the US Government in a bad situation between building a new Iraq and supporting our long time ally Israel. It would also be a way to turn the not-so-theocratic but fairly nationalistic youth in Iran against the west. The one thing they might have to fear – regime change – is unlikely due to the generally perceived lack of success in Iraq.

Crappy situation all around.

Bin Laden in Iraq?

Chris Farris — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 12:12:41 +0000

Did Usama bin Laden leave Afganistan to take up an asylum offer in Iraq?

Thats what CNN reported back in 1999.

No ties indeed.

Robertson vs Chavez

Chris Farris — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:58:34 +0000

I’m not entirely sure what all this hub-bub is with Pat Robertson’s comments regarding “killing” Chavez. He explicitly said that he was opposed to the Ford-era Executive Order prohibiting assassinations. He then compared the assassination of Chavez to the costs of a military action in Venezuela. It seems pretty clear when he said “We have the ability to take him out” he was referring to the US Government and not the 700 Club rent-a-cops.

You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he [Chavez] thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop. … We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

I have long been a proponent of assassination over military intervention in cases where it makes sense. Robert Mugabe is a prime case of a foreign leader I’d love to see the US “take out”. And by take out I mean kill. His violation of property rights is about to cause a massive famine in Zimbabwe, which will lead to many more deaths.

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20050826.html