Islamists casting a shadow on Arab democracy hopes

[Thom Little]

When Iraqis swarmed to the polls Dec. 15 to cast ballots in parliamentary elections, the Bush administration hailed a democratic victory in a region creaking under the weight of corruption, cronyism and dictatorship.

But the outcome might not be what the administration had in mind when U.S. forces swept Saddam Hussein from power more than 2 1/2 years ago.

Iraq's elections were dominated by Islamic clerics, and the new Parliament probably will include a large proportion of Islamist legislators, many of whom have ties to the mullahs of Iran.

In recent elections across Iraq and other countries in the region, Islamist parties have capitalized on new political freedoms to gain a clout and legitimacy unprecedented in the modern Middle East. Their growing strength is the single most unpredictable element in the Bush administration's grand vision to replace despots with democracy.

"U.S. foreign policy has helped directly in the rise of the Islamists," said Gamal al Banna, a liberal Egyptian writer and brother of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. "The intervention in Iraq and the support for Israel's policies are creating so much anger in the region. The Islamists are benefiting from that anger."


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/3557262.html

[High Plains]

1. Gee, who could have foreseen that?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Perhaps it's by design..... one never knows. nt.

[Judi Lynn]

2. How about "Neo-con greed and power lust casts a shadow on Mideast?"

A Republican dream of "democracy" has very little resemblance to REAL democracy. I wish they'd drop the masks, and be honest about it. We know what they are. We're not blind, unlike their idiotic, brain damaged followers.

[mallard]

4. point well made

A totally contrived, unnecessary war has driven the predictable insurgent response all along. Imagine how many of the so-called radical 'Islamists' were students or soldiers or laborers just 3 years ago. There were no terrorists in Iraq.

The it's-their-religion theme wouldn't have worked in Vietnam. Then it was evil Commies. They were into a heavy jihad all their own for sure.

Unprovoked destruction-based invasion was asking for it. This does not breed democracy. That won't be the legacy of the whole mess either.

The connections to 9/11 as the proof positive we need to fight Islamics is baked in lies. They keep turning up the heat and America becomes hated.

There's no solution available with the current propagonads approach to skewing the motivation for people who aren't 'on board' with the pogram.

They want US out.

[bridgit]

3. fundamentalism of whatever stripe is disinclined toward...

democracy imo whether christian, islamic, judeo, hindi, atheist, corporate, geopolitical, capital based; democracy is only an ancillary concept to attain their mandate

[varun]

6. Exactly, Fundamentalists do not believe in man-made laws

and thats what Democracy is.