fbpx
Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Don’t Take Sides in Conflicts That Don’t Concern You

Andrew notes that some prominent conservatives and Christians have been flacking for Laurent Gbagbo. These include Glenn Beck, Pat Robertson, and Sen. Inhofe, among others. This is unfortunate, but not primarily because it shows their “Christianism” or anti-Islamic sentiments. It is most unfortunate because Americans must get out of the misguided, dangerous habit of picking […]

Andrew notes that some prominent conservatives and Christians have been flacking for Laurent Gbagbo. These include Glenn Beck, Pat Robertson, and Sen. Inhofe, among others. This is unfortunate, but not primarily because it shows their “Christianism” or anti-Islamic sentiments. It is most unfortunate because Americans must get out of the misguided, dangerous habit of picking and taking sides in other nations’ internal conflicts. This is misguided whether or not it has policy implications, but it is especially dangerous because this tendency to choose sides can have an effect on how the U.S. eventually responds. That means refraining from both cheering and booing Gbagbo, because the Ivorian civil war is none of our business.

When Americans choose sides in a conflict they barely understand, they are going to latch onto the most superficial things or the things they recognize in one of the warring parties. Sometimes this will lead to straightforward identity politics and a decision to side with the people most like themselves. I don’t think it follows that these few conservative defenders of Gbagbo prove that “[t]he GOP has now completed its transition from anti-Communism to anti-Islam.” Anti-communism and anti-jihadism do seem to produce some of the same misjudgments, such as the tendency to support deeply flawed leaders in the developing world who seem to be engaged in part of the same struggle. As the significant support from the Republican political and foreign policy elite for the Libyan war should show us, the GOP is a long way from being anything like a consistently anti-Islamic party.

It’s not any better when Americans choose the side that is significantly different from themselves in terms of religion or politics. There was no special virtue when mostly Christian Americans chose to side with Muslims in the Balkans. It was still a case of interfering in conflicts that didn’t concern Americans. Oikophobia isn’t a more attractive trait than identitarianism.

We need fewer passionate attachments in general, and the less we project our domestic political quarrels and preoccupations onto foreign conflicts the better it will be for all concerned. Gbagbo is a thuggish ruler who has taken his country to the brink twice now, but he has a significant constituency in Ivory Coast, and the political problems of the country aren’t going to be resolved simply because he is driven from power. Indeed, because he has refused to leave voluntarily, the country is suffering from civil war conditions that will make stabilization after he leaves very difficult. The situation is still unsettled, the refugee population is already enormous, and the potential for a humanitarian catastrophe remains great.

Like the Libyan civil war, the Ivorian civil war is one in which Americans genuinely have no stake. There are no straightforward heroes or villains in this story (as there usually aren’t in political contests that turn violent), but Gbagbo looks worse because he is clinging to power when the entire region and the world accept that he lost the election, and because he relies on ginning up hostility towards foreigners and second-generation Ivorians who fail his test of “Ivoirité.” Gbagbo’s youth militias and thugs have reportedly committed more of the atrocities in Ivory Coast so far, but Ouattara’s forces are hardly paragons of virtue:

Human Rights Watch documented serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law in recent weeks by armed forces fighting for Ouattara in Abidjan, including reprisal killings of civilians and extrajudicial executions against detained pro-Gbagbo forces. While Ouattara and Guillaume Soro, the former head of the Forces Nouvelles who is now Ouattara’s prime minister, have officially denied a connection to the fighting forces in Abobo, sources in Abobo and inside the Ouattara camp acknowledged the strong presence and role in Abobo of Forces Nouvelles soldiers under the Ouattara side’s control.

Pro-Ouattara forces now exercise complete authority in large sections of Abobo and the town of Anyama, operating dozens of checkpoints in the area. That level of control, combined with the Ouattara government’s declaration of being the legitimate state power, means that such forces – and the Ouattara government to the degree it controls the forces – should be held accountable for violations of human rights and humanitarian law in these zones. The past week gives disturbing indications of human rights violations and war crimes being committed there, Human Rights Watch said.

There is no reason for Americans to take Ouattara’s side or Gbagbo’s side. The U.S. has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the election, as have all the relevant regional and international institutions, but that doesn’t mean that Americans have a stake in Ouattara’s victory.

Advertisement

Comments

The American Conservative Memberships
Become a Member today for a growing stake in the conservative movement.
Join here!
Join here