The Time for Jaw-Jaw Has Passed!

It's rare that I find myself so strongly in agreement with a pundit proposing the offensive use of force. Typically, I find myself in favor of a restrained foreign policy; I would avoid using our blood or treasure to resolve other nations difficulties.

That said, there is a point where outrages become too serious to ignore and action is simply demanded. With that in mind, I must agree with this post from Democracy in America:

...But we also can't just sit back and watch while a clearly disturbed dictator defies the wishes of his own people, embroils his country in civil war, and then uses as his final weapon his control over his nation's supplies of the fuel that drives the economies of America and the rest of the developed world. There is such a thing as "vital American interests". Mr Obama needs to act, not next week, not after further deliberations with NATO allies, but now.

With that in mind, I propose that Mr Obama:

• order the United States strategic coffee reserve to immediately release into the market quantities of bean sufficient to calm nervous consumers worried about supply disruptions

• call on Congress to repeal all environmental legislation impeding development of America's domestic coffee production

• demand that Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivory Coast give up control of that country's coffee production or face possible American naval action to secure stockpiles

And don't even get me started on cocoa. We should just make it clear that all options are on the table