[Tommy Gunn]

I don't think the Islamic culture is ready for democracy.

If they had democracy, they would elect Osama bin Ladin to power.

[JohnBT]

Good. Then he'd show his face in public.

John

[DaveB]

I don't think the Islamic culture is ready for democracy.

If they had democracy, they would elect Osama bin Ladin to power.

Funny thing, Democracy. Sometimes the people who vote actually get what they vote for.

Be careful what you wish for.

Also, why do you say they're 'not ready'? Is it because they might do something we don't agree with?

db

[longeyes]

If they follow what is really in their own best interest, we have nothing to fear. Both sides may have something to learn there.

[Joe Demko]

Ah...the white man's burden, 21st century version. We must not allow our little brown brothers to do anything for which they aren't ready. We must also punish them if they try to.

[Bahadur]

Ah...the white man's burden, 21st century version. We must not allow our little brown brothers to do anything for which they aren't ready. We must also punish them if they try to.You got that right. We, in the past, often supported tyrants in foreign countries on the assumption that the ordinary people in them could not possibly create stable societies.

For example, we used to claim that "Orientals cannot have civilized, democratic socities." Well, look at Taiwan. Look at South Korea. They are counter-examples to those (including repressive Chinese communist leaders) who claim that East Asians are "simply not ready for democracy."

Now, having said that, a more representative form of government (democracy, republic, what have you) does require some degree of prosperity and education on the part of the populace to work successfully. Give "democracy" to people who are poor, uneducated, resentful and superstitious and you can easily end up with a chaotic mob rule.

Iraq, as far as the Middle East goes, is an excellent place for this experiment. It is religiously mild (much more secular than, say, Saudi Arabia or Iran), fairly well-educated (one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East, including women) and is well-endowed with material resources (petroleum) that can be used to build prosperity. Of course, there are problems, the major one of which is the sectarian-ethnic division among northern Kurds, central Sunnis and southern Shi'ites. Not everything is rosy.