In 1979 when the NVA invaded Cambodia to rid the country of the Khmer Rouge it was IMO a 'blessed event'.
The calculus of human cost of accepting sufferage now to mitigate much greater suffering later is one that the layman will always be faced with.
For those that believe that no one should ever use force you are eventually reduced to the argument that you can't even justify police.
The situation in Burma is complicated because their is such concentration of power that only two alternatives exist; a massive civil war with hundreds of thousands of casualties or a carrot and stick approach that will bring them out.
We are fortunate that we have Suu Kyi who can serve as a bell weather beacon on how substantial these advances are and she is embracing the thawing of tensions;
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-myanmar-clinton-20111203,0,7728793.story
Reporting from Yangon, Myanmar, and Washington— Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi praised Washington's newly declared support for her country's recent political reforms, but she emphasized the importance of remaining on good terms with the nation's powerful longtime patron, China.
After a meeting Friday that capped Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's landmark visit, Suu Kyi said that, with U.S. backing, "I am confident that there will be no turning back from the road toward democracy."
These efforts show how the President's handling of foriegn policy gets more results than Bush's
As my retirement house rests about 4 miles from the Burmese border, I am thrilled with these developments.
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