Man, I've had it up to here with this democracy cure-all snake-oil everyone's hawking. Quick question: How would the people of the Middle East vote on the following questions (the people, not our fantasy of giddy and gracious liberated people):
- Should the U.S. leave Iraq?
- Is it fair to compare Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the Nazi's treatment of Jews?
- Do Arab nations have the same right to an atom bomb as Ariel Sharon?
- Is Osama bin Laden a terrorist or hero?
Yeah, I thought so. And you want them to have democracy? Why was it that everyone from Plato to Nietzsche to the founding fathers considered "democracy" a dirty word? What does GW know that they don't? Every time I hear this talk of "spreading democracy" I wince.
first you have to give people freedom, attitudes change over time when you have that. One step at a time.
Just think in 200 years they will become just like America today!
(I'm not sure if that's a good thing, lets hope they are a bit smarter and keep lefties out)
Chill out fellow Pink Flyod fan. When people write "democracy" they don't really mean democracy, which is something akin to mob rule. They mean "representative government". It sucks, but it's better than anything anyone else has come up with.
And I submit to you that South Korea, though far from perfect, with its representative government is a much better country than either North Korea or Vietnam, which do not have representative governments. Then there's Japan and Germany; then there's the countries of Eastern Europe, all becoming better than before because of representative government and all because of American actions. You'd be hard pressed to find a country in the world that hasn't benefited from American forien policy (I can think of one.)
Re the PEOPLE of the Middle East. You may be right, but remember, only about 1/3 of the people in the U.S. colonies in the late 1700s supported breaking away from England. Most of the people in the Middle East simply don't understand what they've never had.
It follows (you offered no alternative) that you think we should do what ... colonize them?
if they're not fit for democracy, it won't last. everyone has an inalienable right to freedom. what he does with it and the consequences thereof are his issue.