George Bush reminds us every day that our "real" mission in the middle east is to spread freedom and democracy and to enable the long oppressed citizenry there to "speak their minds". What happens when the people speak buy WE longer want to speak with the people because they did not speak the way we wanted them to speak?
Democracy is indeed rearing its head in the middle east - in Iraq, in Egypt and now in the Palestinian territory - but not exactly the way Bush had hoped. All three have put Islamic parties in power (majority power in Iraqi and Palestinian parliaments). A show of purple fingers is exhilaratng until those fingers poke you in the eye. Something tells me that we won't hear much about the Palestinian elections and Hamas during next Tuesday's State of the Union address, athought these may have been among the most freely held elections in that region in a long time. And let's not forget Latin America, where voters recently put socialist leaning governments in power in Chile and in Bolivia, whose leaders are more likely to consult with Hugo Chavez on matters of governance than with George Bush.
Cragg Hines of the Houston Chronicle asks if Bush can make lemonade from this lemon.
Well, well, it seems you have to be careful what you wish for with this democracy business. A coca farmer is jefe in Bolivia. A muddle of mullah-led Shias is attempting to run the political show in Baghdad. And, most ominously, Hamas sits atop the Palestinian heap.
That may all be a little more liberty and freedom than President Bush had in mind. No matter how positive a face he attempts to put on the Palestinian voting, the result is political legitimization of an armed Islamic faction that the United States and the European Union classifies as a terrorist organization and that openly calls for the destruction of Israel.
For a more detailed analysis of the same, read Juan Cole in Salon.com.
"The stunning victory of the militant Muslim fundamentalist Hamas Party in the Palestinian elections underlines the central contradictions in the Bush administration's policies toward the Middle East. Bush pushes for elections, confusing them with democracy, but seems blind to the dangers of right-wing populism. At the same time, he continually undermines the moderate and secular forces in the region by acting high-handedly or allowing his clients to do so. As a result, Sunni fundamentalist parties, some with ties to violent cells, have emerged as key players in Iraq, Egypt and Palestine.
Democracy depends not just on elections but on a rule of law, on stable institutions, on basic economic security for the population, and on checks and balances that forestall a tyranny of the majority. Elections in the absence of this key societal context can produce authoritarian regimes and abuses as easily as they can produce genuine people power. Bush is on the whole unwilling to invest sufficiently in these key institutions and practices abroad. And by either creating or failing to deal with hated foreign occupations, he has sown the seeds for militant Islamist movements that gain popularity because of their nationalist credentials. ..."
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