I’m interested in what Anne Applebaum has to say in the Washington Post:
Clinton in China
Clueless in Afghanistan
“…there is a vast middle ground between mouthing empty slogans in high-level negotiations — let alone threatening to invade — and doing nothing whatsoever. Many nations do overthrow dictatorships and become more democratic, or at least more open, as a result. … Certainly, we can help by directing small, even tiny, amounts of money at the people who promote debate, not armed rebellion, inside repressive countries. One could argue that the pennies we spent funding Radio Free Europe or anti-communist magazines such as the now-defunct Encounter during the Cold War were far more effective than the billions we spent on military equipment. Although the modern equivalent, Radio Free Afghanistan, reaches more listeners in Afghanistan than any other broadcaster, we aren’t increasing its funding; to the contrary, we’ve been slashing its budget in real terms. Nor have we yet found a creative way to promote a real discussion of radical Islam in the moderate Muslim world, as Encounter once promoted a discussion of communism among social democrats. …
How do we help our governments think through genuine alternatives to large-scale violence?
