01 June 2008
The Lawyers’ Crusade
Despite what Aitzaz Ahsan has sought to achieve in Pakistan, according to James Traub’s article in the June 1, 2008, New York Times Magazine, the imperative of protecting the security of America must always trump Democracy promotion as the goal for our government’s policy. Keeping us safe cannot justify sacrificing our own civil liberties; however, supporting the civil liberties of the people in a strategically important foreign country must take second place to the priority of maintaining our own ability to live our lives with the material and political values we cherish.
I am eager to see Mr. Traub’s upcoming book, “The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy.” Perhaps I am missing something in that title, but I believe that it is precisely the kind of evangelism signified in its message that put America into the misbegotten invasion of Iraq by the George W. Bush Administration.
Of course, American influence may never be used to suppress the growth of individual liberty in other countries. Nevertheless, expanding freedom in other societies is primarily the responsibility of their members. In certain cases, U.S. policy is well served by promoting democracy in other countries; however, our interests and the spread of democracy in every foreign culture are not identical.
Despite what Aitzaz Ahsan has sought to achieve in Pakistan, according to James Traub’s article in the June 1, 2008, New York Times Magazine, the imperative of protecting the security of America must always trump Democracy promotion as the goal for our government’s policy. Keeping us safe cannot justify sacrificing our own civil liberties; however, supporting the civil liberties of the people in a strategically important foreign country must take second place to the priority of maintaining our own ability to live our lives with the material and political values we cherish.
I am eager to see Mr. Traub’s upcoming book, “The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy.” Perhaps I am missing something in that title, but I believe that it is precisely the kind of evangelism signified in its message that put America into the misbegotten invasion of Iraq by the George W. Bush Administration.
Of course, American influence may never be used to suppress the growth of individual liberty in other countries. Nevertheless, expanding freedom in other societies is primarily the responsibility of their members. In certain cases, U.S. policy is well served by promoting democracy in other countries; however, our interests and the spread of democracy in every foreign culture are not identical.
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