Valerie Plame sues

Valerie Plame is bringing civil actions against Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby and Karl Rove (click). Don't you just love the litigious nature of contemporary America? I doubt it will do mrs. Plame any good, but perhaps, perhaps, it will help definitely getting rid of this trio...

America's biggest enemy

A remarkable item in yesterday's LA Times. General Peter Chiarelli wants to change tactics, arguing that some American troops in Iraq have been their "own worst enemy," unintentionally creating new insurgents by treating the Iraqi people in a heavy-handed or insensitive manner. Yesterday's NRC Handelsblad places this in the context of Iraqi prime minister Al-Maliki's claim that US troops use "unacceptable" violence against Iraqi citizens. The Dutch newspaper follows this report with a list of some cases that have raised concern everywhere:

• Hamdania: 7 marines and a medic have been charged for murdering a handicapped man in April
• Thar Thar: 4 soldiers indicted for the murder of three prisoners in Thar Thar near Tikrit in May
• Haditha: investigation into the death of 24 unarmed civilians in Haditha in November 2005.
• Mahmudiya: ex-private Green indicted for rape and murder in March

Indeed, a change of tactics might do some good. This, incidentally, was already argued by the Britisch early in 2003 when they deployed their forces in the Basra area.

Who knows if it will work. It puts into perspective the claims of some (I won't name names since some of my friends are among them...) that since we are dealing with a clan society with notions of collective responsibility ('you harm one of us, and anyone of your family is fair game') and vendetta, we should follow the rules of the insurgents.

Peter Chiarelli, for one, does not seem to agree (anymore).

Exporting Democracy

Half a year ago, things looked hopeful in the Arab world. Syria retreated its troops from Lebanon, Kuwait was going to allow women to participate in the electoral process, Libya distanced itself from terrorism and elections were announced in Egypt. In short, Arabia looked like it was going through some reform. Now, with the energy market extremely volatile and Western Countries seemingly more concerned about stable energy supplies, human rights and democracy have taken a back seat in the foreign policy of many countries. Arab dictators seem to have felt the mood change very well and are relieved to be able to return to former times. Click.

More on Hirsi Ali

It is never nice to kick someone when (s)he is down, but sometimes I am not a nice person.

Last December Time Magazine published a list of 100 most influential persons. Ayaan Hirsi Ali figures there more or less prominently. Quite an achievement! Last Saturday, NRC Handelsblad, a quality Dutch daily newspaper published a long oped piece by two researchers who did a content analysis of about 4 years worth of newspapers to determine the influence of Hirsi Ali. They found that Hirsi Ali stirred emotions enough to have a lot of talk about her, but very, very little about the issues that she stands for. In other words: more hype than content. What is more surprising: she generated most criticism within her own political party (with friends like these...) and very little from the Left opposition, who seem to share many of her concerns. So really a flash in the pan.

Add insult to injury. Yesterday, I heard an interview on talk radio. Dutch author Nicolaas Matsier who wrote a novel on the application for political asylum from the point of view of those assessing the merits of that application was interviewed. For his novel, which unfortunately is only available in Dutch, he read about 50 dossiers of asylum seekers in Holland and interviewed several IND officials. He is remarkably mild and positive about the care and consideration these officials give to what is arguably the biggest moral questions facing Western countries these days. Many asylum seekers use the procedure as an alternative way of immigration into the West. However, many are also sincere, fleeing persecution, oppressive family law, etc.

He argued, quite convincingly, that if the details of Hirsi Ali's story of how and why she fled her family in Kenia are true (i.e., the details she herself has given in many interviews), she should not be considered eligible for political asylum status. She was not fleeing any danger that according to official policy is big enough to warrant status -- consequently, she should be considered a fortune seeker.

I don't really know what to make of this, but it is true that similar cases to that of Hirsi Ali have been refused status. Personally, I don't think Hirsi Ali's case was as strong as that of the Kurdish rape victims that have been refused any status here. However, that is neither here nor there, as I consider the existence of borders philosophically and morally problematic (that means that I don't know what to think of it -- I don't believe that it is OK to keep people out simply because they, or their parents, were born elsewhere). But it does put some of her quests and claims in perspective don't you think?