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CCD Board Member Jeremy Kinsman Argues for Supporting Democratic Transition
November 4, 2011
By: Mark Hsen | Printer Friendly

In an October 27 Ottawa Citizen opinion editorial titled, "We can no longer defer to dictators," CCD Board Member Ambassador Jeremy Kinsman offers a response to James Bissett's "NATO still getting it wrong in Kosovo" and David Harris’ "We've kicked a hornet's nest in Libya," previous opinion editorials featured in the Ottawa Citizen.  Kinsman argues that the international community has a duty to support democratic transition and to protect citizens threatened by dictatorial violence.

In his editorial on the Kosovo crisis, Bissett presents his distrust of international intervention as a facade for advancing foreign policy objectives rather than pursuing authentic humanitarian aid.  Kinsman responds to Bissett's claim that NATO acted on "false ground…that genocide was taking place" with his own personal experience in the refugee camps as well as the infamous Srebrenica massacre where approximately 6,000 Bosniak men and boys were brutally murdered.

Kinsman clarifies on Bissett's claim that NATO bombed Serbia without consulting the United Nations (UN), stating that the issue was in fact voted on by the UN Security Council with an ultimate veto by the Russians.  Kinsman argues that "NATO intervention had clear moral legitimacy, but no UN authority."  However, in 2005, the UN accepted collective international action "to stave off mass atrocities within a member state, but to be judged on a case-by case basis." 

Libya acts as the inaugural case.  In Harris' editorial, he argues that international support of Gaddafi's removal without a clear transition plan actually increased threats to international security.  He cites in particular missing weapons from weapon stores, including ground to air missiles.  However, Kinsman uses Libya as a prime example of when international intervention is appropriate and needed. 

Kinsman argues that while dictators appear to provide a more predictable regime, and thus a "safer" situation, this proves to be a false sense of security.  He argues that supporting dictators in a wider war (such as on terror) is a losing strategy, putting us on the wrong and losing side.  Kinsman concludes that while startup democracy may be messy, and transition difficult, the international community must support these pursuits for democratic values.

To read Kinsman's full piece, please see:
Ottawa Citizen – We can no longer defer to dictators