Elections are a good thing, right?
The Bush Administration thinks so, when the subject is Iraq. Indeed, elections seem to be the only "success" of the Administration's Iraq policy so far, unless you deem the destruction of Saddam's regime a closed question.
The reconstruction is years behind schedule, although most of the money has been spent or diverted, the Iraqi police and military forces are still years away from adequacy, at the current pace of training, and the "unity" government is still unformed, despite the millions of purple fingers.
But elections, apparently, are not always "good" enough. When the "people" decide in Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, and Palestine, to elect anti-Israel parties to their local, regional, and national governments, the Bush administration threatens them with economic sanctions and military attacks. Policies guaranteed to give even bipolar schizophrenics a severe case of cognitive dissonance.
Hamas doesn't like Israel and won't "recognize" them. So the Administration calls upon them to change their fundamental position or lose money. But the UAE doesn't like Israel either, or officially recognize them, but the Administration thunders and blusters for their right to manage shipping terminals in the U.S.' most vulnerable areas to terrorist attack.
Saudi Arabia is still technically "at War" with Israel, has yet to have any election of consequence, and continues to fund wahabbist madrassas from Pakistan all the way to the United Kingdom. But the Administration sees no need to threaten them with sanctions or bombs.
And as for Pakistan, well, they are "special" because they possess nuclear weapons, but are not yet capable of delivering them to Tel-Aviv. When that changes, everything else will also.
Is it any wonder why an Iraqi merchant/family man would believe the argument that his own future "security" is more dependent on those of his kind, roaming his neighborhood, town, or city, armed with machine guns and rpg's, than he would believe the President of the United States when he asserts that the way to peace, freedom, and prosperity, is through ELECTIONS ?
The Cynic of Arimethia might say that the "Powers-that-Be" are so preoccupied with imposing "Democracy" upon what used to be known as "the Third World", where both friend and foe will be subject to manipulation and intimidation, because, you see, there will always soon be another "Election".
stephenhsmith 27Feb2006
