I'm not sure if you thought my reference "saving their lives" meant the Iraqui people. No, I was referring to the surrounding neighbors.
I got that the first time.
Democracy just doesn't work in some cultures where first you run for President and then you run for your life.
Or, perhaps the worry in Washington is that democracy WOULD work.
<<< In 1958, a crucial year in postwar history, President Eisenhower advised his staff that in the Arab world, "the problem is that we have a campaign of hatred against us, not by the governments but by the people," who are "on Nasser's side," supporting independent secular nationalism. The reasons for the "campaign of hatred" had been outlined by the National Security Council a few months earlier: "In the eyes of the majority of Arabs the United States appears to be opposed to the realization of the goals of Arab nationalism. They believe that the United States is seeking to protect its interest in Near East oil by supporting the _status quo_ and opposing political or economic progress...." Furthermore, the perception is accurate: "our economic and cultural interests in the area have led not unnaturally to close U.S. relations with elements in the Arab world whose primary interest lies in the maintenance of relations with the West and the status quo in their countries...." [40]
[40] For sources and background discussion, see World Orders Old and New, 79, 201f.
Tom |
