Another challenge for the Bush Doctrine
By XSpyder Posted in User Blogs — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
As if we weren't jaded enough to coups and violence among the colonially-carved nations of Africa, here's some news out of Mauritania, courtesy of Gateway Pundit:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2005/08/army-coup-dtat-in-mauritania.html
It seems that while President Taya (I won't even try to spell out his full name) was out of the country for King Fahd's funeral, a military coup d'etat took place. Ostensibly, the intent of the coup is to end the 20-year totalitarian rule of Mr. Taya, and the military leaders of the uprising say they have established a council that may for up to two years, during which time legitimate elections may be planned and held. This is eerily reminiscent of the circumstances under which General Musharraf assumed power in Pakistan.
The reason Mauritania is of interest is that President Taya has--also ostensibly--has aligned his nation with the United States in the War on Terror. The roots of the coup rest in a recent attack on a military outfit in eastern Mauritania for which an Algerian terror group claimed responsibility. The attack, in turn, led to a crackdown by President Taya on militant groups within Mauritania...not quite sure how this is a valid pretext for a "democracy movement" to stage a coup, but apparently, such is the way in Africa.
So the challenge is now posed to the Bush Doctrine calling for democracy over stability. By all outward appearances, we may lose an avowed ally in the War on Terror (the situation is not fully settled yet), but is there a chance we can keep Nouakchott (that's the capital) on our side even if this nominally-democratic movement takes hold?
There's probably not much more to say until more news unfolds.
I'm not disputing that relieving the current regime of its "noble" twenty-year service isn't a change for the better. Not at all. Even a remote opportunity for democracy is better than stagnant totalitarianism. If Mauritania presents no challenges or questions to the Bush administration's policies, and even if it has no tangible effects on our combatting terrorism, so much the better. I would also agree that your analogy to Karimov and Uzbekistan is perfectly apt. Few people burn the midnight oil concerning themselves with the intricacies of U.S.-Mauritania relations, so perhaps "challenge" is a strong word, but this is an event of some significance.
... as they say a 'fait accompli'. So the only thing for it now is to wait and see if the military has any greater commitment to democracy that the sham that they tossed out. Afterall, the Turkish military has stepped in several times to "preserve" the nation and we consider Turkey to be a democracy (of sorts :-)
I'm just not sure it will be for the Bush Doctrine.
The president took power in a coup in December 1984.
To call the elections there a borderline sham is to be charitable, however in 2003 women were allowed to vote.
It outlawed slavery in 1981 but it is still practiced.
Libya has attempted at least three coups prior to Khadaffi seeing the light last year.
His style seems to have more in common with Uzbekistan and Karimov than a democracy.
So this may be good news and it may be bad news but I don't see how this can be viewed as a foreign policy challenge just yet.