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| Baby Doc Departs |
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| party, party, party |
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This is Dark Cloud on Wednesday, February 12, 1986. If the United States would sit down and formulate a policy, just once for a change, it might be possible to avoid tear-jerking scenes such as Mr. Duvalier just provided an ecstatic world. Duvalier, son of one of the most petty psychopaths this side of Idi Amin, is one of a long line of idiots that our government has fought for, over the objections of their subjects and common sense. And now that he is gone, to nobody's sorrow, the US is trying to posture as the implement of removal, first by a carefully obvious misstep in prematurely announcing Duvalier's departure, then by smugly remaining calm and reasonable. Of course, Baby Doc has been replaced by ye old military/civilian junta, and it remains to be seen whether or not they'll be any better. They cannot be any worse. And in the Philippines, the US seems remarkably reasonable about the precious Mr. Marcos, a man whose decline in faculties as his greed and power increased is a cautionary lesson to all. I, for one, should have more impressed if the U.S. had broken off diplomatic relations with these two nations years ago, and then supported any reasonable government that followed. As it is, we'll be dealing with the communists in the Philippines sooner or later, utterly avoidable and predictable, but it’s too late now. Now by policy, I mean some common sense rules. And one would be a limit to the U.S.'s recognition of one man rule. Ten years seems reasonable. If the same man stays in power, we pull out by law. Short term horrors, but that means the country in question will have to at least go through the motions of a new election, or lose U.S. support. That means certain countries will have to wrestle with their contention only one person is currently qualified to run it. This policy would apply to our own government, where executives can only remain eight years, to allies, where Mr. Marcos would have been gone in 1974, to Cuba, where Mr. Castro would still be in power but at least our policy would be consistent. Castro, who has become more nepotistic and mellow as time putters on, has his own hunting preserve and, with himself, there are three Castro family members in the top ten positions in the nation. Castro is a remarkably competent and energetic man, but he is doing Cuba no favors by staying on to the end, whatever it may be. It is the dream of all desperate kings that the people have the right to keep anyone in power as long as they want, but I think it may speak to the laziness and fear of people to do so. It's too bad that the U.S. cannot gear in a policy like this within two years. Then, when we pull up and leave Mr. Gorbachov in the Kremlin in 1998, the world can ponder what it says about a government in the control of one man for ten years. It is one of our greatest weapons, this orderly transfer of power. In the age of instant communication, it is time to make use of it. |
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