Comments by "Awesome Avenger" (@awesomeavenger2810) on "Why do people still go hungry? | Guardian Animations" video.

Stuart Morris. On your last point, the 'anti-war' brigade has been far too successful. We both know that if you want to really make a change in these places, that means making a commitment to use force if necessary. Can't be done now. Blaming ourselves for these problems is now seen as an excuse to do nothing.
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Live Aid was a success. And despite the real world encroaching on its rather naive idealism, it very much did change many lives for the better. But the cause of the Ethiopian famine was far from being all about drought. The Soviet/Cuban (I'm guessing that's where much of the paying back of debts aid money ended up) backed Communist government was fighting an insurgency. It was withholding foreign aid to rebel held areas. And its forced resettlement schemes only made the famine worse. Drought may have created the problem. But it was bad government that turned it into famine.
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Stuart Morris That is the problem with thinking that money can solve everything (I'm not saying that's your position btw). The UK aid budget to Pakistan was reported to reach £446 million in 2014/15. But much of Pakistan has big problems with the Taliban. No good spending money to build new schools if a mob of AK-47 wielding bearded lunatics take over the place and use the building as an arms dump. Iraq is another example. No matter what your position was on the actual war, if anyone truly cared about Iraq's future they would've supported western troops remaining there until the government was stable enough to run the country. Instead the very people who cried so loudly over the wests 'illegal war', were the very ones who did their best to undermine western efforts to rebuild the place. We had Gordon Brown proudly announcing he was pulling UK troops out while we were still fighting a fuckin insurgency??? UK forces were so stretched they were barely able to safeguard their own base, much less secure the surrounding area. And the result is that the country is now an ungovernable shithole! The lack of political will in the west is responsible for the problems in Iraq. And the consequence is that now people (quite understandably) say, fuck the lot of them.
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Stuart Morris. I see no problem with demanding they take back those convicted of crime here. Demanding they treat them right in exchange for the aid we give. Might have a knock on effect to improve human rights in those countries. But Libya was actually a success when compared to Syria. Had the west not intervened, we would have seen a mass exodus across the Med as Libyans fled Gaddafi's vengeance in Benghazi. Or the war would still be going on. And I agree, we aren't the worlds police. But I believe we should act when we can act. Because I actually believe the west is best. Ain't no other fuckers that give a shit, after all!
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