A great op-ed in Foreign Policy written by Yoweri Museveni of Uganda on the situation in Libya. The point that really struck me was this:
Western countries always use double standards. In Libya, they are very eager to impose a no-fly zone. In Bahrain and other areas where there are pro-Western regimes, they turn a blind eye to the very same or even worse conditions. We have been appealing to the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over Somalia -- so as to impede the free movement of terrorists linked to al Qaeda, which killed Americans on September 11th, killed Ugandans last July, and have caused so much damage to the Somalis -- without success. Why? Are there no human beings in Somalia, as there are in Benghazi? Or is it because Somalia does not have oil that is not fully controlled by the Western oil companies, as in Libya on account of Qaddafi's nationalist posture?
The comparison to the inaction of the Western powers to use the same level of humanitarian intervention in Somalia, where there has been countless human suffering over the years (as well as in Ivory Coast, which has slipped back into civil war, and does not even come up on Google News anymore). I am not defending the actions of Gadaffi; killing innocent civilians is wrong, there is no defense to this; however, what has been wrong has been the action of the West, its hypocrisy and double standards becoming increasingly transparent when seen through the light of the current display of strength in the Mediterranean.
