“ Recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara is a big foreign policy blunder and setback for the US: It sets a terrible precedent, signaling to other states that they can get away with land-grabs...” (Arun Kapil)
The borders of practically every nation on the face of the earth have been established by “land grabs.” That’s the way it has always been; that’s the way it will always be. The conceit that somehow the community of nations should have anything to say about it neglects to face up to the fact that there is no such thing as the community of nations.
What possible interest could the United States possibly have in the Western Sahara? What Trump got right and American neoconservatives and liberal internationalists got wrong is that the stake Americans have in this part of the world (and many other parts of the world) is next to nothing.
The Moroccans and the Israelis are U.S. allies. If recognizing Moroccan hegemony over the Western Sahara serves either of their interests even slightly, that’s plenty good enough.
Trump got it right; there was no downside to this decision and some upside; even if the upside was marginal.
It's probably worth remembering that a lot of Americans don't think about these matters as carefully as you. I've heard a lot of unironic praise from Trumpists heralding the arrival of Peace in the Middle East. Accuracy is no virtue to these minds, only enthusiasm.
These are the same folks who were talking up a Peace Prize shortly after the NK Photo Op. As we saw, voter turnout was obviously influenced by record enthusiasm. And sufficient enthusiasm might effect things after an election as well.
Yes. Claire, please provide an edit function. Typing comments on a smartphone on a commuter train leads to typos. It would be nice if we could fix them.
It's in the pipeline. Substack doesn't have this feature (I would very much like it, too), but we plan to move to a dedicated website within three months. Please be patient while we beg people to subscribe so that we can afford to do this. And if you've subscribed already--actually, I know you have, because you're allowed to comment--thank you for helping to make this possible.
“ Recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara is a big foreign policy blunder and setback for the US: It sets a terrible precedent, signaling to other states that they can get away with land-grabs...” (Arun Kapil)
The borders of practically every nation on the face of the earth have been established by “land grabs.” That’s the way it has always been; that’s the way it will always be. The conceit that somehow the community of nations should have anything to say about it neglects to face up to the fact that there is no such thing as the community of nations.
What possible interest could the United States possibly have in the Western Sahara? What Trump got right and American neoconservatives and liberal internationalists got wrong is that the stake Americans have in this part of the world (and many other parts of the world) is next to nothing.
The Moroccans and the Israelis are U.S. allies. If recognizing Moroccan hegemony over the Western Sahara serves either of their interests even slightly, that’s plenty good enough.
Trump got it right; there was no downside to this decision and some upside; even if the upside was marginal.
It's probably worth remembering that a lot of Americans don't think about these matters as carefully as you. I've heard a lot of unironic praise from Trumpists heralding the arrival of Peace in the Middle East. Accuracy is no virtue to these minds, only enthusiasm.
These are the same folks who were talking up a Peace Prize shortly after the NK Photo Op. As we saw, voter turnout was obviously influenced by record enthusiasm. And sufficient enthusiasm might effect things after an election as well.
Ugh, really wishing for a shame / edit button right now.
"have an effect on"
Yes. Claire, please provide an edit function. Typing comments on a smartphone on a commuter train leads to typos. It would be nice if we could fix them.
It's in the pipeline. Substack doesn't have this feature (I would very much like it, too), but we plan to move to a dedicated website within three months. Please be patient while we beg people to subscribe so that we can afford to do this. And if you've subscribed already--actually, I know you have, because you're allowed to comment--thank you for helping to make this possible.
A dedicated website that will have this feature, I mean.