The Political Whore

By Michelle Stark
CL Intern

The U.S. military is characteristically unsuccessful at humanitarian interventions because it likes to fight “clean wars” that focus on the protection of our soldiers and not protecting civilians in the nations where we intervene, a USF professor said in Pinellas Park this weekend.

“The American people support intervention, but not if it turns messy,” said Thomas W. Smith, an associate professor of government and international affairs at USF – St. Petersburg.

“The use of military force for humanitarian ends” is one of the most challenging topics in international relations today, Smith told members of the League of Women Voters on Saturday.

Smith talked about specific crises such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and said that humanitarian interventions in such countries have contributed to a decline in those nations’ sovereignty.

“The idea has emerged that if governments fail to protect their people,” Smith said, “they give up their sovereign rights and give way to intervention.” But Smith said he doesn’t want “to make the case for intervention too vigorously” because he is “pretty skeptical with how things are being handled now.”

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Despite Rick Warren’s odious appearance and a bumbling exchange between the new president and Chief Justice Roberts, Barack Obama’s inauguration was as moving and powerful as the rest of his journey to the White House as been.

With empowering rhetorical style in his speech this afternoon, Obama elicited misty eyes and wide smiles from the immense D.C. crowd – while simultaneously managing to ensure the American people that this presidency will be nothing like the previous.

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Mayor Pam Iorio will celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Mayor’s Beautification Program on Friday at a breakfast — highlights include an auction for Billy Joel-Elton John tickets — in Tampa. Iorio will meet with individuals and businesses that were notable program contributors in 2008, a year that proved successful for longtime project.

The news release after the jump:

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President Bush said yesterday during his news conference that Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel if any sort of ceasefire is going to take place.

Surprise!

Never mind the Israeli offensive, or its recent incursion over the border and into Gaza. It is not surprising that our nation’s leader is once again turning a blind eye to the atrocities perpetuated by the Jewish nation and placing the majority of the blame on the Palestinians.

From a purely humanitarian aspect, Israel’s actions are wrong, and should not be supported by the United States. As the most powerful and influential country in the international system (more debatable now, given our current economic woes), America shouldn’t be supporting the blatant killings of hundreds of Palestinian CIVILIANS.
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