I have noticed two of the State Dept's spokesmen (George Will and Thomas Friedman) talking this week about bringing democracy to the Middle East. George Will even had the gall to say that the 1979 Iranian revolution was good for America, since the Shah was a dictator, and this was progress toward democracy. Crucially, he did not mention that America ousted the democractic government, installed the Shah in its place, and supported him until the bitter end, and then bitterly opposed the subsequent regime. But this and Friedman's similar comments are not directed at knowledgeable people, they are directed at the fully indoctrinated.
Anyway, my point is that this must be part of the government's PR campaign to plant the seed of thought in people's minds that we are attacking Iraq to promote democracy. They can't say this directly, because it is easily refuted in direct discussion. So, they have to make allusions (and illusions) instead.
Tom |
