The Defeat of Richard Luger and Moderations Death

Last Tuesday, longtime Indiana Republican Senator Richard Luger was defeated by Tea Party favorite Richard Mourdock. Luger was a symptom of the very problem that the Tea Party rallies against. He was a long time Washington politician that appeared more tied to Washington than his local district.

The defeat of Senator Luger is also an ominous sign for those wanting Washington to actually get something done. Luger understood how to work across the aisle, looking beyond the party label for the betterment of the country. We need more Richard Lugers’ in the halls of Congress, not less.

As the few incumbents who prided themselves on bipartisianship continue to be defeated by more extreme Tea Party challengers, we need to become concerned about the Congress that we are creating.

By voting out moderate candidates, we are only creating these factions of extremity within both parties. With two extreme political parties, not only does nothing get done, but the American people are deprived of meaningful representation because America is a very conservative country by nature.

 It will be a dark day in America when a little extremity becomes the new moderation.

Iraq’s Continued Kurdish Question

The large Kurdish population in Iraq has been a subject of discussion and concern for the last twenty to thirty years at least.

 In the post Saddam Hussein Iraq, the Kurds have been granted a large degree of autonomy within the Iraqi state. Still, there are once again questions about the Kurds future in Iraq.

 The catalyst for these most recent tensions is the recently discovered oil within Kurdistan. Some leaders argue that there could be a split between Baghdad and Kurdish Iraq if disputes over oil revenue and power sharing are not resolved. The question I have is who needs who here?

Kurdistan is easily the most secure region of Iraq, as the central government in Baghdad struggles to maintain basic services. Iraq needs the oil revenue sharing with Kurdistan as it gives the government a major revenue stream.

Yet, I’m also not certain the Kurds can survive on their own given the difficulties they’ve had with neighboring Turkey.

 As far as I know, there’s no movement on the issue of creating a Greater Kurdistan with Kurds from Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. I therefore believe that the uneasy relationship between Kurdistan and Baghdad will have to continue for the good of both parties.

Khalid Sheik Mohammad Trial: Who’s Justice?

9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad was recently arraigned in a military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Some analysts have described the proceedings as a modern day Nuremburg trial that will test the fairness of US military commissions.

 While there is great focus on the military commissions, I think we have to ask ourselves an even more fundamental question of who are we seeking justice for?

Military justice implies that justice in this case is a military matter, despite the fact that 3,000 U.S. civilians were killed. Yet, it has been said that civilian courts don’t have the safety mechanisms in place to deal with this case.

How does one measure justice in the face of a crime so heinous? No verdict rendered by any court-civilian or military, can ever hope to gratify everyone.

It is my worry that no matter what’s decided in Guantanamo Bay, we’ll have effectively divided those persons directly effected by 9-11 into three camps: those who believe in Guantanamo Bay, those who wanted greater punishment, and those people who don’t believe that a military commission is the right way to deal with the terrorist problem.

Justice in the case of Khalid Sheik Mohammad is far from the black and white matter its’ presented as.

Elections in France and Greece: Wither Austerity

France and Greece held national elections last Sunday. The French ousted pro-austerity President Nicolas Sarkozy in favor of Socialist Francois Hollande, who has vowed to pull French troops from Afghanistan, increase government spending, including a 75% income tax on the rich, and renegotiation of a European treaty on trimming budgets to prevent a Greek like debt crises.

 Meanwhile in Greece, the voters ousted the current government and by extension the European Union negotiated bailout. Do these two results mean the death of austerity within Europe?

Austerity isn’t liable to win any popularity contests—anywhere. Certainly not in Greece where people are committing suicide because the cuts have left thousands of people without jobs, pensions, and livelihoods. In France, they also see a troubled economy that has muddled through austerity measures. If an economy struggles through austerity, than more spending must be the way out right? Add Sarkozy’s personal unpopularity and we may be able to explain these results.

 Ultimately, I believe austerity is the proper way forward, but as I am not French or Greek, so I didn’t get a vote.

Kony 2012

While I was off the blog the mastermind behind the L.R.A. Joseph Kony received international attention thanks to a documentary entitled Kony 2012 that received millions of hits on YouTube and scores of media attention.

 A key criticism of the Kony video is that the very complex issue of L.R.A. involvement in Uganda has been reduced to focus on one man. I’m of two minds concerning this criticism, 1. Capturing Joseph Kony does not end all violence throughout Uganda and elsewhere. 2. If you’re a filmmaker seeking to enlist the public’s help in a cause,  you need to simplify it.

 It’s much easier for the public to implore their representative to GO GET JOSEPH KONY! Than DO SOMETHING ABOUT CHILD SOLDIERS IN UGANDA!

It’ll be interesting to see whether the viral video trend catches on as a tool to go after other international terrorist masterminds. Furthermore, what is the impact of Kony 2012 in six months or a year? If it only serves to focus temporary attention on Kony, and then everyone goes back to musing about Al Qaeda in Yemen or John Edwards, than what has been accomplished?

 The public attention span is fickle and could easily be preoccupied with the viral video of the moment. Therefore, while Kony 2012 is a unique effort to spread the word about an important cause, I question its’ use as a counter-terrorist tactic.

Harry Potter Revisited

Last July, I wrote one of the most infamous posts in the history of this blog discussing moments that define generations. Unfortunately, it got interpreted that I was attacking Harry Potter, and boy did his fans let me hear it. I didn’t understand Harry Potter because I’d never read a word, and only briefly had seen one of the movies.

Over the last ten months, I’ve grown to understand and appreciate Harry Potter. Though I may never grow to be as passionate as some of Mr. Potter’s fans because Harry Potter occupies a ten year time space in people’s lives that I unfortunately missed out on.

 I come here on this blog today to announce that I now love Harry Potter and have now seen the error of my ways. Peace.

Where Have I Been?

Book Diplomacy has not updated lately because I’ve been stuck in the abyss that was my last graduate seminar in human security. But I’m back and committed to making this blog better in the upcoming summer months, which are mostly school free.