November 8, 2003 6:32 AM

Sound advice? Perhaps so.

Arabs to Bush: Mind your own business

"No individual, or group, has ever commissioned Mr. Bush to safeguard their rights ... and basically, keeping in mind the dark record of the United States in suppressing the democratic movements around the globe, he is not in a position to talk about such issues.

- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi

It's one thing for President Bush to talk about the need for greater democracy in the Middle East. That's a wonderful idea in many respects, but it ignores the very trenchant reality that most Arabs wouldn't know democracy if it bit them on the ass. This isn't really their fault, of course. We're talking about a region that has no democratic tradition to speak of. One man, one vote and the rule of law are both foreign concepts to most Arabs, who in most cases have been ruled by despots and oligarchs.

Memo to President Bush: if you're going to talk about the virtues of democracy, make certain that your audience knows just what the hell it is that you're talking about. Every time I hear this pronouncement from the President, I'm reminded of the Chinese students who occupied Tienanmen Square in Beijing. They all spoke of their desire for democracy, but when they were interviewed about what they thought democracy was, it was clear they had no clue. You can't blame them, really. After all, they've known nothing except for a brutal, sclerotic, autocratic regime. It would be understandable that they might think democracy is everything that socialist tyranny isn't. Wrong. Sometimes democracy is simply just a different brand of tyranny.

Hey, we know what people really want after they're liberated, don't we? Youbetcherass we do: DEMOCRACY!! WHISKEY!! SEXY!!

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on November 8, 2003 6:32 AM.

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