Well, to quote Bananarama...
'It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it'.
A fair number of these situations that the West are now feeling forced to intervene in were created by the UK, US and several other countries by 'Gung Ho' policies about 20 years ago. Getting involved and helping out are important things, but, I have always held that people learn from making their own mistakes. America prizes it's hard-won independance every single year, the UK used to have 'Magna Carta Day', however, our government being what it is, like St Georges day it has vanished into the Ether. Local government probably thought it would offend terrorists, they are
that PC (Seriously, Enfield Council in North London refused to fly the Union Jack on St Georges day because it might offend non-natives
).
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Freedom is something only you personally can strive for, be it freedom to stay out after 10pm, or Freedom to use your legs after a horrible car crash etc, it is a prize, and is honoured and appreciated as such.
Putting aside the facts of our involvement 20 years ago, if Freedom had been handed to you rather than won, do you think you would appreciate it? Do you think you would treasure it and hold it in the highest esteem if it had not even been your achievement? The Iraqis, for example, don't see it as Freedom, they see it as a foreign army in their country. Had you left them to it, nothing may have happened, or there may have been a massive uprising where thousands died, that uprising may or may not have worked. It gets complex because Saddam was originally by all evidence, placed in power in Iraq by the West in the first place.
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/51/217.html - Note, yes, this is biased to a fair degree, a lot of speculation and little evidence, but there are many more documents that agree with it.
So, had we not got involved in the first place, we wouldn't actually need to be there now. Yes, Iraqs previous leader was not very well disposed towards the US, but better an honourable enemy than a dishonourable friend.
So yes, I think the entire West needs to sort out it's government, not just for the sake of the sick and needy, but for the sake of the healthy and well-off as well, the corruption in our governments is spinning like an Ooslem bird, but it's not it's own rear end it's going to end up flying into.....
Edit : Anyway, On topic, this is the sort of situation that the UN and the US
should be getting involved in, it was not instigated or deliberate, simply a horrible disaster, you would hope to see people put their differences aside at times like this, but sadly, you would always end up dissapointed.
