[varon]

The best way to prevent terrorists from gaining new recruits is to replace hatred and resentment with democracy and freedom, Bush said, because the value of free societies has been proven by history.

Mr. President, that is so simplistic and based more on wishful thinking than reality. If your words had validity, then our great nation, the epitome of democracy and freedom would be free of hatred and resentment but that is not the case, Mr. President. Neither you or I can walk the streets of any of our major cities without signs of that which you claim should not exist.

The babble of phrases containing democracy..........freedom etc is getting old fast. They are overused and frankly have given cause to make me think they are cover for other less palatable motives.

[RobbyS]

If your words had validity, then our great nation, the epitome of democracy and freedom would be free of hatred and resentment but that is not the case, And your alternative is....? As Churchill said, more or less, Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all others. More to the point, we have been waiting for another Ataturk to appear in the Muslim world for, how many years now? The region from Morroco to Pakistan has a population greater than the United States/Europe, but a GDP not much larger than California's. Break the mold, try something different.