The Young Turks

Cenk compared Iraq to Burma. One of the points I wanted to make when I was on the show was that unlike Iraq, Burma is a place where the people actually want democracy. They even went so far as to elect leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi. And yes it's painfully ironic that we put our might toward Iraq, an unjust cause, and not to Burma, where of course we could do great good.

 From what I've learned about the Burmese people, they are very patient and do not care for violence. They (and I use 'they' as a general term)  actually are calling for talks with the military gov't to reach an amicable solution. Wow. That's pretty generous given the government's past atrocities (burning down villages, raping women, slaughtering 3000 protestors in 1988, etc.).

 When I was in Thailand and meeting the Burmese refugees, I kept thinking, "I'm a peaceful man, but given  the opportiunity, I'd kill that son of a bitch leader Than Shwe." And I've only felt that way once before after watching a documentary on Joseph Kony (of the Lord's Resistance army in Uganda).

But interestingly that's not the Burmese people's approach. They want change and they want it peacefully.

After reading of Bush's condemnation of the military regime in Burma, my friend asked me today what I thought about having Bush on my side. I had a hard time answering that one. 

My friend then said, "You'd think they have oil over there." "Well they do", I told him. He rolled his eyes and said, "Well there you go."

 Maybe. Maybe there is some hope that someone of influence in our gov't is pushing for the condemnation of the military regime for something other than just oil. Something inching towards altruism.

I spiked my own bullshit detector when writing that , but here's the thing. China is Burma's biggest client. To go into Burma for the oil would mean going toe to toe, bomb to bomb, with the Chinese. I don't feel our country is there yet.

The best thing for us to do as a country at this point is to pressure China, which sits on the UN Security Council, to join in the condemnation of the military regime in Burma. An arguement has been made that without the military regime, the Burmese won't engage in trade. The opposite is true. They would gladly trade resources, they just would like to do it as a free people.

Also, China is trying to put on a good face for the '08 Olympics. They are susceptible to having their arm twisted now. 

So those are just some thoughts I had on the growing conflict in Burma. To help out, please visit http//:www.uscampaignforbur ma.org

I'll answer any questions you might have to the best of my ability.

Peace,

Andrew