Democracy doesn't seem to always go our way...imagine!
Back in the mid-90s I was a couple of years into my early career managing private sector development and democratization programs in the newly freed Eastern block when something funny happened. Once having been taught democracy, half of the former Eastern block countries chose Communist candidates to govern them. This, I think, was the beginning of the end of the huge multi-billion dollar push to provide aid to the former Eastern block in order to remake them in our own image.
Now we see a similar thing happening in the Middle East. Billions of dollars of aid money pumped into these places to make democracy flourish, and what do they do? They elect someone that we wouldn't necessarily have wanted them to choose! In Iraq, its the Iran-friendly Shi'ites that are running the show, thanks to the much vaunted democratic elections. Thus in democratizing Iraq, we have handed the place over to the sphere of influence of a total rogue state next door. Noted Iraqi Shi'ite Moqtada Al-Sadr was quoted last week as saying that he would order his militia to come to the aid of Iran if anyone messed with them. If that isn't just about as bad as it gets from the US point of view then nothing is.
And then there was the West Bank Gaza today. 'Proudly conducting it parliamentary elections and handing the budding young democracy over to Hamas. And this despite the best efforts of USAID to do benefit soccer tournaments and such for Fatah over the last few months! Here it is again, we deliver democracy and then they go and use it as they please rather than as we would have liked them to! Damn!
'Wonder who's going to be democratized next? North Korea? They'll probably choose the absolutely psychotic son of the current dictator....oh well...so much for the whole beacon of light thing.
Now we see a similar thing happening in the Middle East. Billions of dollars of aid money pumped into these places to make democracy flourish, and what do they do? They elect someone that we wouldn't necessarily have wanted them to choose! In Iraq, its the Iran-friendly Shi'ites that are running the show, thanks to the much vaunted democratic elections. Thus in democratizing Iraq, we have handed the place over to the sphere of influence of a total rogue state next door. Noted Iraqi Shi'ite Moqtada Al-Sadr was quoted last week as saying that he would order his militia to come to the aid of Iran if anyone messed with them. If that isn't just about as bad as it gets from the US point of view then nothing is.
And then there was the West Bank Gaza today. 'Proudly conducting it parliamentary elections and handing the budding young democracy over to Hamas. And this despite the best efforts of USAID to do benefit soccer tournaments and such for Fatah over the last few months! Here it is again, we deliver democracy and then they go and use it as they please rather than as we would have liked them to! Damn!
'Wonder who's going to be democratized next? North Korea? They'll probably choose the absolutely psychotic son of the current dictator....oh well...so much for the whole beacon of light thing.
Posted at 1/26/2006 09:15:00 PM UTC
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1 Comment(s):
US aid to the Palestinians has been negligible - but I think that's the point you were making referring to the benefit soccer tournaments.
One has to wonder how far $300 billion in aid might have gone toward stabilizing the entire region, rather than military invasions and failed occupations.
The Palestinians have probably sealed their fate, setting the tables for armed confict with new Israeli leadership for the near and probably long term.
Things are going to get ugly before they ever get better.
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