[Dean's World] Dave Price: Regime Change in Russia?

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Posted by Dave Price:
Regime Change in Russia?
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1184789672.shtml


   Ali asks, [1]if Saddam, why not Putin?
   Let's ignore the practical considerations for a moment, and evaluate
   whether Putin is the type of leader that should be removed for the
   good of the people he rules.
   First off, Putin was democratically elected, more or less fairly, and
   remains fairly popular. Not dispositive, but significant. Putin has
   nationalized key industries and stifled free press; not good. He or
   his cronies have assassinated at least one enemy of the regime in
   another country: again, very bad. The Chechnyan war has been brutal,
   and some would say war crimes have been committed. Clearly Putin is
   not the liberal demoratic ideal.
   But all that pales in comparison to the absolute lack of fair
   elections or free press, the rape rooms and mass graves, the nakedly
   kleptocratic governance, and the military aggression of Saddam
   Hussein's regime. If Putin cancels elections, starts putting Russians
   in mass graves and invades neighboring countries like Saddam did, he
   should definitely go on the list of "regimes that should be removed"
   -- nukes notwithstanding, of course. Till then, he's no worse than
   Chavez or Musharraf or a dozen other relatively benign semi-autocrats.
   Not a saint, but not Saddam or Stalin either.
   Ali also suggests we should advance a foreign policy that would result
   in America being better liked. It's a fair point -- national
   popularity is somewhat useful; it can aid political and trade
   negotiations, and it's nice to be able to visit foreign countries
   without people spitting on you. Due to recent unpopularity, some
   Americans have even taken to claiming to be Canadian while overseas.
   Which leads to the question: what if we were more like Canada in our
   international relations? Say we disband our military and end all
   military assistance, to everyone (which seems to be the source of the
   friction). Let North Korea conquer S Korea. Let China take Taiwan, and
   maybe Japan too. Bye bye Israel! (Much of the Mideast will love us for
   that.) Kosovars, better start digging your graves (but the Serbs will
   like us, and besides none of the above is our fault, or our problem).
   Is it worth the price?
   The fight for freedom is not a popularity contest. Taking a moral
   stand can often be unpopular, but in the end there's really no
   question whether we should be doing the popular thing or the right
   thing.

References

   1. http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1184773234.shtml