How to Get Gaddafi

“The reality is that very few revolutions, good or bad, succeed without some foreign assistance,” argues historian Niall Ferguson in an essay for Newsweek. The French aided George Washington with the US revolution; the Soviets armed Mao – and since this essay was published, the UN Security Council voted to authorize military action against Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. Without foreign support, Ferguson writes, rebellions often disintegrate into massacres. Moral support can be as crucial military aid, and Ferguson points to the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, signed by 35 nations. The document’s wording – avowing respect for “human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief” and a “right to self determination” – inspired dissidents and weakened the Soviet Union in its fight against increasing ranks of internal critics. Ferguson urges a modern-day version of the Helsinki document, discrediting Libya as well as Saudi Arabia, China and Cuba for their limits on human rights. – YaleGlobal