– Closing of the Democratic Mind

If Democracy is “Of the People, By the People, and For the People” – then how can someone else “Install” Democracy!

The Bush administration has lost the initiative on Middle Eastern democratization. The gong of reality has apparently sounded. But just as some officials overestimated how democracy would impose sudden serenity on Iraq, those advocating a departure from democratization as a cornerstone of American foreign policy misjudge just how much the Arab world has changed since April 2003.

Things were different a year ago. In his second inaugural address, President George W. Bush issued an inventory of liberal promises: “We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own people.” (Applause.) “America’s belief in human dignity will guide our policies. Yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.” (Applause.) … “Americans, of all people, should never be surprised by the power of our ideals. Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul. We do not accept the existence of permanent tyranny because we do not accept the possibility of permanent slavery.” (Applause.) … “Democratic reformers facing repression, prison, or exile can know: America sees you for who you are, the future leaders of your free country.” And so on.

In a much publicized speech in Cairo last June, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice applied this idealism to the Middle East, saying: “For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region here in the Middle East—and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people.”

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