Syria's wrong numbers; ME democratic hard test begins now
or twenty-two, rather than “only” twenty, pro-democracy Syrian activists a day would be enough to draw the attention of Western public opinion to the machinations of the Syrian regime? Would that it were true!
2. The real test lies ahead
Speaking of Syria, Tom Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote an important column on Tuesday, 12 April (“Pray. Hope. Prepare.”). He points out that when the wave of democracy swept through central Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it found states which were all more or less like Germany: ethnically and religiously homogenous with a tradition of civil society – with one exception: Yugoslavia. In the Arab world, the opposite is true: with three exceptions – Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco – all Arab states are uneasy multiethnic, mutli-tribal, multi-religious coalitions.
Friedman says that in these more complex societies, the removal of the old, autocratic regime typically leads not to civil society, but to civil war – with the bloody disintegration of Yugoslavia being a glaring example.
There are exceptions which show that it may be possible, even in a multi-ethnic, tribal society, to move from an authoritarian order to a more democratic one: South Africa and Iraq. In the first case, the collaboration of two extraordinary leaders, F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, allowed this to happen. In the case of Iraq, it was a foreign intervention (and even then, the initial phase of transition was accompanied by horrific inter-ethnic violence).
Friedman writes:
Absent those alternatives [courageous, visionary leadership or foreign intervention], you get what you got. Autocrats…. shooting their rebels on the tribal logic of “rule or die.” Meaning: either my sect or tribe is in power or I’m dead. The primary ingredient of a democracy — real pluralism where people feel a common destiny, act as citizens and don’t believe their minority has to be in power to be safe or to thrive — is in low supply in all these societies. It can emerge, as Iraq shows. But it takes time.
We have now had a democratic upsurge toppling the autocratic regimes in Egypt and Tunisia. These were the easy cases. The test begins now, as the popular anti-regime unrest spreads to more complex Arab societies like Libya, Syria, Yemen, Algeria, and others. We should keep our fingers crossed.
Friedman concludes: “Pray for Germanys. Hope for South Africas. Prepare for Yugoslavias.”
3. Health care reform DHS-style
DHS is looking for vendors to provide EHR (electronic health records) for the detainees ICE is holding in twenty-two sites across the United States (see this DHS RFI). DHS is looking for EHRs that will provide information on clinical support (intake screening, scheduling, provider order entry, and treatment referrals); pharmacy/pharmacology support (master medication list management and order fulfillment); and offline capabilities to support documentation for remote services.
DHS says that the new EHR system should eliminate existing reports based on hand-tallying; reduce medication errors for detainees; improve identification of preliminary and certified medical conditions; improve reporting of infectious diseases; and provide prompts for completion of specific medical activities required under detainee standards, according to the request for information.
Government Health IT reports that DHS wants to implement the new system in FY2012 and is looking to award a 5-year contract with the right vendor.
Electronic health records? Eliminating existing reports based on hand-tallying? Reducing medication errors? Improving identification of preliminary and certified medical conditions? Improving reporting of infectious diseases? Are these not some of the central elements of the administration’s health care reform?
We are not taking sides on the merits of the administration’s plan, but limiting our discussion to the issue of electronic records: Which group would you bet on to receive first the benefits of more efficient, cost-effective, and accurate medical records – detainees in DHS detention centers, or tax-paying Americans?
Ben Frankel is editor of the Homeland Security NewsWire
