So, we have a war!

Or a conflict, at least. Interesting times. It's certainly a delicate situation.

I've been struggling for ideas and inspiration on what to write in this blog to kick-start it, so why not start with something topical and fucking enormous? It will be interesting to look back on what I type here now in the coming years with hindsight and my developing attitudes towards international politics. Who knows, in a years time my opinions may be completely converse to what they are now. I wouldn't mind if they were since that would require a very interesting journey for me to feel that way, or I will at the very least be educated to a greater level on the subject.

First and foremost I whole-heartedly support any motion to topple a tyranny or decapitate a dictatorship. Taking any motives for our involvement (and by 'our' I mean the UK, though this sentiment stretches much further than just the UK involvement) to one side, I feel it would be a positive step if Gaddafi relinquished his power (through any means necessary on his person, considering it would appear at the time of typing that we have the ability to get rid of him without the bloodshed seen in the likes of Iraq. Obviously I would rather he be imprisoned for his crimes against humanity than for him to die or be executed).

With the amount of free or partly free nations (I would define a nation not to be free if they had extremely restricted political rights and civil liberties, as is clearly seen in Libya) on the rise, this is an opportune time to secure another, as flippant as this sounds. But this is something that the people (or at least a large amount of people) within Libya want, and without help from outside their country it may not be possible.

The debate on them wanting our (and by that I mean specifically our) help is a tricky one, considering there are such a broad variety of protesters wanting many different things, politically speaking. They all have a hatred for Gaddafi and a will for freedom in common though. Whether some of them will appreciate such heavy involvement from exterior forces on the political side of things (as is bound to happen, even if only in their eyes) is another matter, and so things are complex. If democracy can be established, the eventual outcome of an election is likely to be questioned, and Western influence highlighted by those who still do not see their country moving in the direction that they want it to. It is unlikely that the country will return to such extreme conditions though, and this is a positive step. Libya may prefer aid from countries closer to home, but given the turmoil in that region at the moment, this appears unlikely when it comes to large quantities of support. One thing is for certain however - they do need help.

The financial side of providing support has been called into question, given the current economic climate. Many people are looking at how much is being spent and then looking at the hard times they have faced recently and how this could be afforded. To begin with, taking aside the fact that we are still far more privileged than almost all of the rest of the world, I do not put a price on human lives, especially (slight oxymoron about to come) when it comes down to the sheer number that are at risk right now. I do see it as a moral duty to help these people, and even if this is not the driving force behind the western governments' involvement, I believe that the ends will eventually justify the means. The warheads that will be used have been pre-paid for anyway and it is very much a case of 'use them or lose them' as they only have a certain shelf-life, whether that is due to technology advancing to render them useless, or simply that they pass their use by date and become ineffective. I concede that other miscellaneous costs such as fuel and personnel used will be a factor, but these are worth the money spent, I feel. Replacing these arms, another concern, would also provide work for many and this would be welcome in the current employment situation, in the UK at least. The money has already been spent on the defence, and a budget is continually set aside both for its upkeep and in case of emergency. This is (in my limited knowledge) enough of an emergency for us to mobilise, given the other threats that we face at this time. We are not directly at threat from a specific nation state, and if a terrorist attack took place then simply launching all of our warheads would not be the way to retaliate.

Comparisons to Iraq and Afghanistan have been made and it would be extremely unfortunate if both Libya and the countries involved in intervening ended up down that route. There are positives to be taken from those wars, but the ending has certainly left a sour taste for everyone concerned. One major advantage with this situation is that the people of Libya want this to happen, and have shown how serious they are when it comes to their freedom. They are ready for it. This is, and I hope it will remain, their revolution.

So those are a few (hastily typed) reasons, in this early stage of the conflict, for my backing of Western involvement in the Libyan situation. It's an idealistic view of course (ignoring the possible existence and strength of Gaddafi's allies and the consequences this could lead to, and the possible corrupt nature of our own governments and the way that they will behave as events unfold) and a simplistic one too, given my limited knowledge. I personally believe that with Gaddafi gone and power to the people of Libya, there will be a much brighter future for them and also world politics. Here's hoping that's the way it pans out.

(Not all of my posts will be as heavy as this, I can assure you)

Welcome to 'The Drunk Room'

Named after the book I am very slowly writing, which takes its name from a Mercury Rev song, this will be the place where I come to spout the ramblings and often inane wanderings of the inside of my mind. I have no plans for there to be any fixed methodology or direction for this blog to follow and whilst I would like to imagine that it will be topical, cutting edge and well informed, I make no promises that it will be.

I hope to use this platform to discuss anything including current events (or indeed events I have only just become aware of), music, politics, religion, science and technology, literature, film and simply my general opinion on whatever is currently taking my interest.

This is my first effort at a blog and so if anybody has any suggestions on how I could make improvements feel free to let me know.

Welcome.