There was an interesting point-counterpoint argument in the Ottawa Citizen today, which dealt with Iran, terror of rational people everywhere. The argument in favour of military action to stop Iran's nuclear program was that if we do not act, it will be too late. The argument opposed laid out the risks of inflaming an already bad situation, should such action fail.
Iran is known for denying rights to its citizens, for having a fanatic loony as a national leader, and for generally being a global bad neighbour. We cannot stand for this. Eventually, every non-democratic, non-free state will have to go. I don't mean "free" in the way the US has - the freedom to eat at McDonalds, and shop at Wal-Mart - I mean free speech, freedom of movement, and essentially the sort of freedoms that the Western world embraces. The "free" market is a debatable as an indicator of a free society, but basic civil liberties are not. I intend no egotistic, jingoistic view when I say that the average level of freedom in the western world should, and MUST be available to every human being.
Eventually, that means taking a stand against China, and any other country that denies its citizens full rights. Military intervention is not the best way for this to happen, clearly. Grassroots movements within these countries would be preferable, but where such movements are nonexistent, or underpowered, war may be our only option.
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