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On Bush’s ‘March of Freedom’: Answering My Critics

By on 3.2.11 @ 6:05AM

Is the Middle East really destined to remain hopeless?

I expected my last piece, “Bush’s Middle East ‘March of Freedom,’” to draw some fire, and it certainly did. One emailer, a publisher who I respect, wrote: “While I yield to few in my admiration for the work of Paul Kengor on Ronald Reagan, I would urge restraint to anyone drinking this Kool-Aid with respect to freedom and democracy in the Middle East.” He called my essay “delusional,” adding that “most of these [Middle East] countries are tribal in nature; in most of them the median IQ is in the 60s-80s range, creating easy prey for demagogues; few of them have any rational, liberal mediating institutions or traditions which restrain violent passions.” He concluded: “Elections, should the turmoil in the Middle East lead to them, will result in ‘one man, one vote, one time,’ as the old saying about African elections in the 1960s predicted. Oligarchy, or perhaps benign autocracy, is the best form of government we can hope for from the countries of this region, for the rest of this century.”

I disagree. But I would like a chance to clarify and expand upon my comments, which I think is necessary and might be helpful. This really is a difficult subject, with as much division among conservatives as between conservatives and liberals. I’ve grappled with it for a long time.

First, consider what George W. Bush — in his National Endowment for Democracy speech that was focus of my essay — referred to as “cultural condescension.” Bush stated:

In many nations of the Middle East… democracy has not yet taken root. And the questions arise: Are the peoples of the Middle East somehow beyond the reach of liberty? Are millions of men and women and children condemned by history or culture to live in despotism?… I, for one, do not believe it….

Some skeptics of democracy assert that the traditions of Islam are inhospitable to representative government. This “cultural condescension,” as Ronald Reagan termed it, has a long history. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, a so-called Japan expert asserted that democracy in that former empire would “never work.” Another observer declared the prospects for democracy in post-Hitler Germany [were], and I quote, “most uncertain at best.”… Seventy-four years ago, The Sunday London Times declared nine-tenths of the population of India to be “illiterates not caring a fig for politics.”… Time after time, observers have questioned whether this country, or that people, or this group, are “ready” for democracy — as if freedom were a prize you win for meeting our own Western standards of progress.

Bush saw the Islamic nations of the Middle East as no exception, even given their obvious “freedom deficit.” Bush insisted that the Middle East had to be changed; doing so would change not just the region but the world.

Importantly, he added, democratic governments in the Middle East “will not, and should not, look like us.” Equally significant, he urged that “working democracies always need time to develop — as did American democracy.” America must be “patient” with those nations at different stages of the journey.

That said, I’m not gung ho on the prospects for democracy in the Middle East. I’m somewhere between skeptical and cautiously optimistic. I’m certainly no Kool-Aid drinker when it comes to this highly complex unknown.

I teach Middle East Politics. I’ve read the Koran many times. I know this region’s history. And I know that George W. Bush embarked on an unprecedented democracy project in the part of the world where democracy has been most absent, most immune to freedom’s march. The Middle East is the least democratic region on the planet.

Consider these numbers: The final pre-9/11 survey by Freedom House found that while 63% of the world’s nations were technically democracies, an astonishing zero of the 16 Arab countries in the Middle East were democratic. In other words, President Bush sought to sow the seeds for a democratic transformation in the most barren region in the world. More than that, he chose to start the project in the Middle East’s two most repressive states: the Taliban’s Afghanistan and Saddam’s Iraq. It was in those countries that Bush hoped to re-commence Ronald Reagan’s “march of freedom.”

And yet, to Bush’s credit, we quickly witnessed at least four major elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, where millions of people who never voted before braved bullets and bombs and turned out in percentages of 60 to 80% to participate in democracy.

I will never forget two news stories I keep on file:

One was a December 15, 2005 AP piece on the third major post-Saddam Iraqi election. It reported that several rocket explosions were heard in Baghdad throughout the day; that a mortar shell hit near a polling station in the northern city of Tal Afar; that a bomb exploded in Ramadi; that another bomb was detonated at a voting site in Fallujah; that a mortar round struck about 200 yards from a polling place in Tikrit; and that a grenade killed a school guard near a voting site in Mosul. Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and police guarded polling centers. Bomb-sniffing dogs searched everywhere. And still, Iraqis walked miles to vote, forced to walk because vehicles were banned due to threats of car bombs.

Not only did Iraqis persevere, but did so in droves. Election officials were forced to extend voting due to long lines.

Second was a New York Times piece on the first Iraqi election the previous January. It reported how maintenance workers swept up charred chunks of human flesh from around the feet of Iraqis who refused to leave their spots in line as they waited to cast ballots, and then fearlessly stained their fingers with ink that would mark them as targets for terrorists. In another incident, Iraqi terrorists suited up a Down syndrome man with a suicide vest; anything to halt what al Qaeda ringleader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (now dead) deemed “the evil principle of democracy.” In all, 44 people in Iraq literally died to vote in the January 2005 election, the victims of 38 separate attacks on polling stations, in a voter turnout that exceeded the U.S. presidential election two months earlier.

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About the Author

Paul Kengor is professor of political science and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. He is author of the new book The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis, The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor. His other books include The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism and Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (39) |

Ret. Marine| 3.2.11 @ 7:00AM

When it come right to the wire, these made up countries/Nation States of islam will do what they always do, resort to the tribal feudal system as long as there is someone who is more brutal in the religious belief of islam more than the other. I as well as many of my fellow Americans do wish for the best outcome but, one cannot get away believing a peoples of over four mil are going to somehow restrain themselves long enough to cut the pie in equal directions after this long of a period of fighting among themselves as to who is the most strict in religious views. Never mind the untold view (72%) according to the latest poll indicating and encouraging the implementation of sharia law for the entire world either by admission or by the sword if necessary. Yeah good luck with that one. Not that Bush was wrong in his beliefs. You know the old saying crap in one hand and wish in the other, see which one comes to reality.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 5:37PM

"And yet, to Bush's credit, we quickly witnessed at least four major elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, where millions of people who never voted before braved bullets and bombs and turned out in percentages of 60 to 80% to participate in democracy."

Good enough for government work. So continue to be as patient as you are, Kengor, Germans, being so efficient, methodical, know that patience is a virtue.
As long as the patience is not over-TAXED.

Appleby| 3.2.11 @ 7:11AM

I have copies of Life Magazine in which the usual suspects are wailing that Japan and Germany could never be rebuilt, much less return to the bosom of humanity. Today Germany essentially runs the EU and the Berlin Wall both went up and came down in my lifetime and people I know were there to see it. Today Hiroshima is a flourishing city and Detroit is in ruins. When I was a teenager, *Made in Japan* was a derisive comment that meant *Cheap Junk* -- today when something fall apart, people sing sarcastically *Look for the Union Label*.

I am past the halfway point of my life, but in that lifetime I have seen and heard many people opine more in sorrow than in anger that nothing would ever happen that had never happened before. The special issue of Forbes Magazine predicting the 1980s is especially hilarious. And the one thing I have figured out is that anything can happen in this life and usually does.

I anticipate the next 10 years, assuming the King shall not come again, will considerably startle you all.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 5:40PM

You would compare the primitive Mideast to the advanced Axis??
You had better hope the King comes, He might be your only hope..

Michael Tomlinson| 3.3.11 @ 3:43AM

Obviously you know little of the "advanced Axis" who slaughtered millions of innocent men and women and performed diabloic science experiments on others. The advanced German Army was logistically stuck in the 19th century with horse drawn wagons -- really advanced.

What it will take to see democracy prosper in the Middle East is vision and that is the problem. The current occupant of the White House like Mr. Brooks lacks vision and the ability to see beyond stereotypes and psuedo-history.

Had America adopted the Obama/Brooks approach in 1945 Communism (the equivalent of fundamentalist Islam) would have dominated all of Europe and Asia.

Being ineffective and vacuous is easy as Obama has proven. Hopefully, despite Obama the Brits and other democracies will fill the vacuum left by the Obama/Brooks strategy of "it's too hard lets do nothing."

All American American| 3.2.11 @ 8:33AM

Why are we still talking "democracy?" There will only be "democracy" insofar as the islamists can use it to get into power. Then, sharia for everyone.

Reapeat after me: Constitutional Republic, Constitutional Republic, CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC!!!!!

(For crying out oud these are what passes for "bright lights" in the conservative movement??? We're all doomed!)

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 5:49PM

All of a sudden, AAA, they are practically futurists; they might even elect Gingrich next year, who will colonize space- so they can leave the Mideast behind. Wouldn't that be GRAND?

Occam's Tool| 3.2.11 @ 7:46PM

Indeed. That is why I forsee a Bad Moon Rising. CCR was prescient on this one.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 8:37PM

Bad moon as in too many egotistical Republicans crowding the presidential field, including Gingrich? that their egos are far more important to them than national security?
Bad moon rising indeed.

Arlin| 3.2.11 @ 9:23PM

Brooks, you make absolutely no sense, and you always post at the top to grab attention , what is wrong with you,

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 10:53PM

No,
Appleby, Tex, Ret Marine, a few others, always grab the top of the blog first thing in the morning, while YOU don't comment much.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 10:57PM

"Hussein O' Stalin", too.
(What a handle, revenge for Bush being called Hitler years ago)

Ken (Old Texican)| 3.2.11 @ 8:36AM

Mr. Kengor,
I was certainly not a "critic" of your thoughts the other day, but I have lived and worked in the middle east.
One of my professors long ago at Baylor U. made an observation though. "When one bows his head to the ground five times a day, it is not because Muslims have a short attention span. It is to remind them to totally "submit" five times per day."

I also draw your attention to the book "The Unexamined Life"
Sir, I just cannot see how freedom and liberty as we conceive of the concepts can co-exist with Sharia, and muhamed's unexamined life.

God bless the poor buggers.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 6:10PM

Then tell Kengor to think more carefully the next time he writes a puff piece on Dubya.
Isn't Kengor paid for writing? it's much better than getting 9 bucks an hour for washing dishes or scrubbing floors.

PJ| 3.2.11 @ 8:44AM

I also believe the Middle East, esp Iraq & Egypt, can embrace & keep a democratic form of government. Unfortunately they are not getting the same long term guidance as Germany & Japan received.

I have little hope for Afghanistan because the education level is not very high among the majority (Not implying they don't have the IQ for it.). A country's people need to be educated in order to assume & understand their responsibilities in a democratic society. (Why do you think public school education in this country is being dumbed-downed?)

Michael Tomlinson| 3.3.11 @ 3:50AM

PJ good post. The big concern for Americans should be our union run public schools that are definitely not pro-democracy despite all their platitudes.

I've seen democracy in Iraq (not like ours, but that could describe the majority of democracies in the world) first hand and it is impressive. Much more real than I would have guessed.

What does not bode well for US is the arrogance of small minds and the apparent love of tyranny by members of the left and right. Ronald Reagan, who believed in the freedom agenda, would be shocked at how easily conservatives morph into liberals when it comes to trashing the idea of democracy in once autocratic states.

Fred| 3.2.11 @ 8:56AM

We shall see. But if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on military dictatorship or Muslim theocracy. In some places, perhaps initial military dictatorship eventually replaced by Muslim theocracy. You simply can't expect savages to act like civilized people. Arab democracy is like dehydrated water. It not only doesn't exist, it can't.

Notary Sojac| 3.2.11 @ 8:57AM

Yes, we did successfully nation build in Germany and Japan. But that was only possible because the ideologies driven by Hitler and Tojo were utterly defeated, with a formal and unmistakable ceremony of surrender.

Playing whack-a-mole in Iraq and Afghanistan with the terrorist footsoldiers, while their ideological and fiscal enablers remain safely ensconced in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, is a recipe for waste of American blood and treasure, lasting decades, with no victory in sight.

Bob K.| 3.2.11 @ 9:37AM

Germany and Japan already were established Nations. The war was a result of their own (democratic in Germany-authoritarian in Japan) interpretation of their Nationalism and their aggressive expansion of it. Once they were defeated the roots remained on which to rebuild them adding democracy to Japan.

We have no idea of what kinds of nations will result from this movement to democracy which we are promoting and financing in the Middle East. Except for Egypt and Afghanistan the boundary lines for the others are creations of "statesmen" from the early and middle 20th century.

They did not get it right. Will we?

Vern Crisler| 3.2.11 @ 9:24AM

How can this Progressive, Wilsonian "march of freedom" make any sense in lands where most people favor sharia?

The essence of democratic government (i.e., constitutional republicanism) is respect for life, liberty, and property. These are the fundamental, bedrock rights that all men possess.

It's the reason Lincoln rejected Douglas's popular sovereignty idea -- because it proposed democracy without those essential rights.

Until sharia-saturated cultures learn to respect those fundamental rights (not to mention other political or social rights), democracy in their case is more like a crap shoot.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 9:04PM

"It's the reason Lincoln rejected Douglas's popular sovereignty idea -- because it proposed democracy without those essential rights."

The Confederacy even wanted fugitive slaves returned to them with the assistance of those not owning slaves.

C. S. P. Schofield| 3.2.11 @ 10:30AM

It seems to me that what ails the middle east isn't necessarily Islam, but the natural consequences of several decades of "Post Colonial" nonsense from the West. For sixty years or more the West has undermined States that made serious attempts to maintain some level of civil order, and reward individuals and States that spouted 'Revolutionary' drivel. This resulted in Lebanon and Iran descending from moderately civilized to oppression and/or chaos.

This could be reversed, if the West would stop allowing policy to be influenced by the deranged intellectual fashions of the Left. But we would have to maintain it for several decades, just as we left it slide for several decades.

Ken (Old Texican)| 3.2.11 @ 12:31PM

CSP
That was a really stupid comment.
Yes, colonialism sucked...about a tenth as much as what preceeded it in that world.

Ret. Marine| 3.2.11 @ 8:35PM

Really Sherlock, good grief, I worked (DOD-State Dept) for more than 10 years. You are dreaming pal. Pick up a book sometime, you really need it.

Alan Brooks| 3.2.11 @ 9:08PM

"Yes, colonialism sucked...about a tenth as much as what preceeded it in that world."

Um, it is a bit more complicated than what you write, you are oversimplifying. Personally, I don't care what happens to Islam or islamics. But not all members of the nations are Islamic fundamentalists, nor are all of them Islamics.

Richard Baker| 3.2.11 @ 10:41AM

Schofield:
Regardless of the past, do you honestly believe that Islam, throughout its history, is anything but a predatory theocratic "religion?" Remember, oil is really the only reason the West has been engaged in the region. Absent oil, the West couldn't care whether they blow each others brains out, which is what they've been wanting to do since long before western involvement. Sunni live to kill Shia who live to kill Wahhabi and so on.

Islam = Clitorectomies| 3.2.11 @ 11:28AM

Repeat after me---

91% of Egyptian women were made to suffer clitoris mutilation!

We acknowledge that Egypt and Iran are the two largest and most vital “countries” in the ME.

Well, then---inductive logic extends that 91% FACT to the whole self-blighted area, eh, wherein the weaker half of the human population is basically in chains.

Unless and until a solid majority of people, both of Islamic “faith” and not, understand in their own hearts the Real World implications of the 91% “solution”, nothing will change, except for the worse.

The road to hell is paved with “good” intentions, and ya sure, ya betcha, just as in Hitler’s own mind, he totally believed he was intending to do the right thing, the exact same thing is doubly damned true for the leaders of radical Islam!

Also, the idea, that the average IQ of the brainwashed masses in the ME is 60-80 could be true, makes it seem like an even worse place for democracy to take hold and grow.

In America, the Democratic Party has perfected its control of over 90% of blacks, thereby keeping them on their political AND economic “plantation”. And, whereas the average IQ of any American is surely 100, the African American culture certainly denigrates education, and family, so it continues to produce great athletes, actors, musicians, etc---excellent physical specimens: but few, percentage wise, mental ones.

Just so, in the ME the Islamic “party” has long been in practically TOTAL control of the poor slobs who choose to be born there!

Any bets on the American black community dumping Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, et al, into the ash heap of history, say, within the next twenty years? I thought not.

How much more so is it the case about the completely DUMBED DOWN denizens under the Islamic yoke? Maybe a hundred years, before they approach the American black level of freedom?

As always, it comes down to CONVERSION.

Each individual should always strive to observe and understand, as objectively as possible, whatever is arising, especially their own reactions about this and that, so that they can CHANGE THEIR ACTIONS!

It’s okay---nay, GOOD!---to get totally drunk, ONCE: and, after experiencing the hangover and remembering, if possible, what you did when in that condition, to get that this ACTION is, at best, ever again done very rarely, if at all.

Well, Moslems are essentially ALWAYS DRUNK!

Notice much observation and understanding, and CONVERSION?

Besides the 91% rate of FGM in Egypt, consider what happens to those brave people who do convert, and renounce Islam.

They are sentenced to DEATH! And, the more high profile they are, the harder it is for them to live a normal life.

Finally, those who do convert must flee from their born “countries”, because if they remain---well, you know the rest.

wodiej| 3.2.11 @ 12:02PM

Our time would be better spent tending to our own backyard instead of spending millions of dollars trying to liberate a country that does not want to be nor has any intention of being a democracy. If the people who live there want it, they can fight for it like we did in 1773.

Pelligrino| 3.2.11 @ 4:43PM

Mr. Kengor, you can reference my 2 posts  made last time, if you wish.   In one I say essentially that I firmly believe:    "If I have the blessing of living in liberties and freedoms, if I enjoy this more blessed life, it is then my duty to win this for others."

And that has nothing to do with any specific region of the world. So, in short, I am not a naysayer.

Perhaps what I can factor into this discussion is the modernity. Yes, modernity. 6-10 years today can bring change that took 40 years just in the last century.

In my time in Europe I encountered many from the Middle East.  All parts.   I once had major dental work done on me at a fairly famous German hospital by a Syrian on one occasion and a Jordanian the next visit.   Both were men in their early 40's. A dentist in training assisting was from Egypt.

But it is the younger set you see more in the streets fully imbibing in Western culture.  ALL forms of it.   Dress, fashion, shopping habits, music interests, TV movies, games on the net, and lots of desire for free time activities. It mattered not whether one was Libyan, Egyptian, Iranian, or Tunisian.  (Yes, most were either first or second generation living in Europe)

Readers here should know:    Most of them never want to return to their Middle East lands (the lands of their forefathers) except for short family visits/vacations.

Get this:    The relatives who receive them in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Morocco, and elsewhere and who host them when they come for these 2-3 week visits to the "homeland" know full well why auntie, cousin, brother, sister, son or daughter will never again WILLINGLY return to the homeland to reside. They know.

Look at the number of top athletes (and, yes, musicians too) who come from these Middle East countries and make it big in France, Germany, Spain, or England  AND who don’t return. 

They’re a bit idolized if not fully idolized by the under 30 crowd back home in the Middle East.   But the “stars” don’t come back to reside. And the people know all about them through the newspapers and now the internet. And they are shamed that these “stars” don’t willingly want to return.   AND….in their hearts they know why.

A lot of the sports stars don't want at all to come back in large part because they know the over-Islamification that it takes to be in the national team is "just weird." They cannot still say it publicly, but they believe that putting one's life under the Koran is "for the birds."

(Just follow the lives of the football stars from the Middle East who are in Germany and England to know.)

Does everybody understand? I am often at odds with bizarre, very secular, very shallow media.   But, in this case, it can truly help.   And it does.

And that represents massive potential for change.

(It goes without saying that it is much more difficult for a dictator to hide his malfeasance today.  You cannot hide today with the internet.   And, try as you might, people know. You just cannot fully block it.)

Ask your students to look at pictures of women under the age of 30-32 in the Middle East.  Even men.   Is it not odd that these women in the Middle East (where permitted) and the men so often sport the very hair style trends, trendy jeans (or lookalikes), shoes, and even eyeglasses?

As a youngster would say, “What’s up with that?”

Might the psychologist then say, “Well, they are doing this in small part as a quiet protest combined with exercising the little freedom that they have to dress a bit as they please.”  Hm?

Aren’t  Victoria’s Secret sales off the charts (proportionally speaking) in places like Saudi Arabia?   Why?(Yes, we know that these women then just wear these items as unseen undergarments but this does not seem to thwart their interests.)

I recently spent some time with a 30-something and older 20’s man and woman from China.  They were here on these shores.   Probably more privileged than most Chinese (otherwise they’d never have been permitted the time to come here) but still dirt poor by our standards.    But did they know US and British movies?  Yes, far better than I do.  Popstars and pop music, ditto.  Couldn’t take them driving and they wouldn’t be pointing out the Gap store, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and other very chic (I think) store names that I don’t even think of.   The woman was grabbing catalogs at some places hoping she might be able to do a JC Penny’s web order once back home.

Why is this? I believe it was their expressions to desire, want, and have interest in the very things their Chinese lives blocked/forbid.    Are these great desires?   Maybe just materialistic ones in the areas of fashion, pop culture, and home decor.   But they are very real expressions to break out of the stranglehold that their parents and grandparents knew.

This is in full throttle in the Middle East where everyone (yes, everyone) has a friend, distant relative, former colleague now living somewhere in the West  (and not coming back).

Do you follow my thinking, Mr. Kengor.   I am sure that you do.

David| 3.2.11 @ 6:28PM

The fact is, Middle East countries and their citizens are open to Islamic or Sharia Law. The secular rule of law is not a consideration. They kill their own when others don't believe exactly as they do.

Occam's Tool| 3.2.11 @ 7:51PM

Except they still possess the blood lust/paranoia that makes them suspect Zionist Squirrels and Vultures.

Sorry. They're not ready yet. Germany and Japan post WWII had one thing going for them in adopting true Democracy: they had just had their lands (especially Japan) pulverized by the West, and recognized that they lost to a "superior ideal."

The ME with the exception of Israel needs a full dose of humiliation and destruction. THEN they will be ready for Democracy.

BD57| 3.2.11 @ 8:31PM

It's one thing to know your 5 year old will someday be capable of driving a car safely and another to hand him the keys & tell him to take it out for a spin.

While anyone who wishes to consider that "condescension" is free to do so, "one man / one vote / one time" elections don't advance human freedom or the aspirations of those who long for it.

WeMustResist| 3.3.11 @ 1:04AM

Yes, God has put a longing for freedom in all men's hearts. Yes, Islam has perverted that longing. Both statements are true at the same time. The Islamists want freedom for themselves - no one else. Allah is a god who nominally believes in love and truth, exept for all the occasions when he believes in lies, anger and hatred, and there are plenty of those occasions. In particular he believes his religion must come first, and that the religion should be advanced by any means, foul or fair. It as a recipe for bullying and criminal behavior in the pursuit of political power. No wonder Muhammed became ruler of Arabia, starting out as a robber chief. There is no escape from the chains of that history, unless one rejects the religion. Christian Arabs, Hindu Arabs, Budhist Arabs, atheist Arabs, Jewish Arabs - they can all be democratic citizens. Muslims of any nationality cannot.

WeMustResist| 3.3.11 @ 3:24AM

I know that MINOs (Moslems In Name Only) can be democratic citizens, and I know that fervent Muslims when they are outnumbered and surrounded by others can be democratic citizens, but I do believe that the more Islam in a society, the less democracy.
If you want to understand the US government you must study the Constitution. If you want to understand Islam you must study the life and ideas of Mohammed. If you want to understand Western civilisation you must study the Bible. I draw your attention to Job, who says “I would speak to the Amighty and I desire to argue my case with God.” And God replies “I will question you, and you reply to me.” In other words we are allowed, indeed forced, to think for ourselves.
John says “God is love.” and the summation of the law is love.
So we are encouraged to love our neighbours and think of ways to help them.
But in Islam a human is a slave to Allah. No independent thought is needed. The worship is mechanical and material, not spiritual or intellectual. There is no need to help your neighbour because all is predestined.
Calvin Coolidge said that in a democracy the people solve their problems. That is possible with a Christian minded people, but in an Islamic state either the ruler solves society’s problems or all Muslims should endure them as slaves of Allah. So freedom is a chance to do good and solve problems for those inspired by Christianity, and a chance to advance the religion of Allah for those who wish to follow Mohammed.

Michael Tomlinson| 3.3.11 @ 4:02AM

Democracy in the Middle East is not as far fetched as many Americans believe (both left and right). What it takes to cultivate it is leadership from the US and West and that is in short supply in the White House.

Had Obama not been an appeaser of Islamic extremism in 2009 he would have back the Westernized Iranian Green Revolution then we might have viewed a Reaganesque moment in world affairs. Alas Obama was Obama.

Lest we forget it took America generations to get to universal sufferage so it will take democratic countries in the Middle East time to develop fully too. That is if the US can provide the leadership and courage to guide them as we did the broken Axis powers. It is on this point that we are in trouble, because courage and wisdom are in short supply at 1600 PA Ave and the cause of democracy here or there is not high on the agenda.

All American American| 3.3.11 @ 2:59PM

"Democracy." Bleh!

Ignorance of islam is not going to protect you from it.

Universal suffrage? Really? THAT'S worked out well huh? No, actually the idea that property owners, or in a 21st-century update, only tax payers be afforded the privilege of voting is a GOOD idea. Giving the vote to folks who have no skin in the game is how you get to 50% of America on some for of govt handout. Oh yeah while the other 50% pay for it.

mkl67| 3.3.11 @ 9:40AM

Just as a totalitarian dictatorship can be brought down, the grip of Islam on its people can be weakened. The explosion of access to information will be instrumental, as well as younger generations moving in and older ones moving out. Let's not forget it wasn't so long ago that men in this country fought fiercely to keep blacks and women classified as chattel. The universal longing for freedom will eventually open peoples' eyes to the tyranny that is Islam...it just won't happen overnight. Democracy is the first crack in the doorway. It would be nice if we had a president with vision supporting this movement with everything he's got, certainly might help to speed the process. Ultimately though, this will happen with us or without us.

Pelligrino| 3.4.11 @ 4:29AM

Mr. Kengor,
Sadly it seems like the shelf-life of articles here at American Spectator Online is about 24-40 hours tops. Sad.

Are we all that hurly-burly in our daily lives?

So only you might see this additional comment from me. That's okay; it is intended for you or a good academic history colleague. (or another savvy American Spectator contributor)

What I would like to know:

Our United States "freedom" efforts in the Middle East began well before April 2003 in Iraq and January 1991 in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and southern Iraq (thereafter with the Kurds in the area bordering Turkey).

I refer to World War II. Maybe I am really off base here, but wouldn't there be Arab/Muslim world people and leaders who were/are appreciative of the US/British/Canadian/Allied efforts on their behalf during World War II?

A specific: All of North Africa. Or would the people there today have preferred some heavy Nazi totalitarian German and (light?) Italian Axis domination throughout the last 6 decades?

We did indeed have to pay dearly for beating back the German Rommel with young men's lives and much treasure. (And that was no sure thing; it was dicey at times indeed.)

Wouldn't the all-powerful king in Morocco have to admit gratefulness for this? Does he think he'd reign today if the Allies had failed? He is indeed old enough to know.

I would like to learn more about this. There was nothing at all certain about beating back the Axis advances in any part of the Mediterranean Sea in the 1940's. That cost us much.

Why do we not exploit this great generosity and sacrifice when we deal with the Arab League and states like Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco?

Do they not see that we spared them from a maniacal tyrant in Berlin? (Or do I misunderstand history?)

I would welcome seeing an article from you, a good colleague, or another intrepid American Spectator writer on this subject. Thank you.

Note: Islam is a tough nut to crack. It is far worse. It is one of Satan's primary tools on this planet presently. However, as I suggest (in a previous post) modernity has a way of being seductive and addictive. And it tears & wears at the Islam grip. Usually modernity dilutes and ushers in a secularism. It can be an ally.

العاب بنات | 4.11.12 @ 6:10PM

is good

thank you

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