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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: michael97123 who wrote (76281)	2/23/2003 3:47:05 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

res- A democratic iraq is probably wishful thinking. A "better" iraq is realistic to expect post saddam. Lets not forget to go step by step. Lets get the building blocks in place before we hold elections. And lets get their oil flowing and economy rolling first. Mike@cynicalrealist.com Hi Mike, I wanted to get back to this post, because I had a lot of things I wanted to say a few days ago in response to Maurice’s post on the same subject, but never found the time. I've read the many thoughtful posts that share the point of view you’ve expressed above. And I simply don't agree with them. I believe the probability of Iraq becoming a democracy if we invade and end the tyranny of Hussein are very high. I actual believe we should expect it to happen, and it should be a large part of our goal after the war effort has diminished. I can understand how easy it is to be pessimistic about the future of democracy in Iraq. There are plenty of reasons for pessimism; distrust between the main groups of Iraqi people, dictatorial rule for 30 years, and lack of any real political parties to organize democratic change around. But there are other forces at work, forces that will create the foundation for democratic change. We have only to look at recent history as a guide. Europeans were tearing themselves apart, and within a relatively short period of time embraced the principles of democratic governance. In the past 25 years the number of democracies around the world has quadrupled. In the past 10 years, that number has almost doubled. I believe we are living in a historical point of change in human history. History has shown that democracies are not likely to fight one another. There has never been a major war between two democratic nations. As ugly as democracy can be, where it exists, peace, prosperity and the rule of law follow. The principles of just governance apply to every nation. And it’s been vindicated by America’s successful absorption of hundreds of cultures around the world. Iraqi’s who escaped Saddam’s hellhole and became American citizens, effortlessly adopted democratic principles. They will do the same in Iraq if given a decent opportunity. There have been hundreds of cases in which people living under dictatorship were finally given a chance to express their will, and the results have never vindicated the dictator. And I doubt there has ever been a time in human history when people have voted to relinquish democratic rights? Democracy is a universal principle. And it applies to every culture on the planet if given a decent chance. Our military will give Iraq that opportunity, because it's in our best interest to do so. Once democracy prospers in the heart of the middle east, it will grow and eventually absorb all the nations surrounding it. That opportunity is what I was driving at the other day as my "tipping point", to supporting this war. Democratic change will do more to alleviate terrorism worldwide then a thousand Tomahawk missiles long term. We need only get the ball rolling, and keep it rolling with the right nudge here-and-there.