(...) The country is still struggling to reform state institutions, cope with economic problems and deal with security concerns, including refugees streaming in from Libya, the Ansar al Sharia terrorist group and some 2,500 Islamists who have gone to fight with Islamic State -- Mistrust between the Islamists and secularists also remains an issue -- STILL, Tunisia has more going for it than most countries in the Middle East – it is small in size, has an army with no history of politics, a middle class, and a relatively well-educated citizenry. It doesn’t suffer from the same sectarian and tribal divisions as other countries. One of Mr. Gannouchi’s main messages while in the United States is the need for continued American assistance for Tunisia. There is real danger that Washington’s attention, and its limited resources, will be consumed by the new war against the Islamic State, otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL. That would be a colossal mistake. Military action is only one, limited, way to deal with extremists. The more enduring solution is to build strong, inclusive democratic states that can address the root causes of extremism. Tunisia is a good bet and deserves America’s maximum effort. takingnote.blogs.nytimes/2014/10/06/tunisia-where-the-arab-spring-still-shows-promise/
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 17:43:29 +0000
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