A Welcome Contagion

Libya may be teetering. If this is the end of the despot Moammar Gadhafi's 40-year regime, good riddance.

Bahrain has pulled back — at least momentarily — from the initial violence its security forces inflicted on protesters.

And the crowds in Yemen seem to be unpersuaded by concessions from the ruler there.

The freedom contagion that started in Tunisia and spread to overthrow the government of Egypt is infecting other Mideast autocracies. It is a contagion the United States should welcome, using whatever influence it has to, first, stay violent suppression and, second, to ensure peaceful transitions if change is the will of the people.

We are not blind to national interests that can overlook less-than-savory actions. It is why this country has supported rulers through the years who could not pass a whiff test for corruption.

But as Egypt demonstrated, such support offers ersatz stability.

In Libya, U.S. influence is negligible. The U.S. can best serve the cause of ensuring Gadhafi's departure by shining a spotlight globally on his brutality. Oil companies should heed Massachusetts Democratic Sen.

John Kerry's call to cease business with Libya until it ceases violence against civilians. And after the fall? Gadhafi must pay for his crimes.

The U.S. has backed Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh as a valuable bulwark against terrorism. And his rule has done little to ease the radicalization of Yemenis.

The U.S. has valued Bahrain as a "progressive" ally by Mideast standards that plays host to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. This did nothing to stop the monarchy from acting like any other oligarchy trying to hold on to power.

Only reporting from brave journalists uncovered the brutality that the regime denied was occurring and ended it — for now. In fact, all the reporting from that part of the world demonstrates a courage not often appreciated. And this is particularly exemplified by CBS correspondent Lara Logan, who was beaten and sexually assaulted in Egypt.

The Obama administration might figure that a homeport for its Fifth Fleet is reason to not press the Bahrain monarchy. But a homeport would be too high a price to pay if the result is more brutality.

U.S. options in that part of the world are limited because of the support we've offered to the self-serving autocrats there. There should be one guiding principle in such situations: Stand with freedom, always.

REPRINTED FROM THE MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL.

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