Democracy in the Middle East

We are not the first to see that the seminal event which destroyed the notion of a divine right to rule and birthed the spirit of consensual government, a people sovereign above all else - the execution of Charles I of England in 1649 - provides in fact a template or blueprint for the Middle East. The parallels are indeed striking. Then as now there was brutality directed by the King upon his very own as Charles jailed his enemies and waged war upon his subjects. Then as now there were intense religions rivalries, intense ethnic hatreds. There was the clash between political and religious authority, resulting eventually in the doctrine of separation. Finally, there was a France and Spain (just as there is a Syria and Iran now) which tried to rescue Charles in desperation that the revolution might soon be visited upon them.

Realists have maintained that the Middle East is the least hospitable place in the world for a democracy. Nonsense. What is true is that for the past 45 years a civilization gap has continued to widen between this region and so many other parts of the world. The reason: Arab countries have aped western ideas but sought to implement these through state power - capitalist dictatorships that don’t work. The inevitable decay and failure, the brutality of rule have together bred a growing yet sub-surface counterculture of resistance. It is this reservoir of internal pressure and agitation, before constrained or crushed by ruling thugs that now will be married to an enlightened US agenda, ultimately transforming the entire region. One need only witness recent success in Iraq to understand the process.

On the stage of world events, fate and luck often trump the best planning of the most gifted leaders. Women under the cro-magnon Taliban led a miserable life. Would the US have come to their aid if bin Laden had failed in his plan? If Saddam had not directly aided and abetted terrorists (the key reason for the invasion) would the torture chambers still be full today? If Arafat (who was thoroughly corrupt, stole hundreds of millions intended for his people, abolished elections and enforced violence) had not died would we ever have even the presentation of a genuine window for peace? We’ll leave these answers to the sage; it is enough that we are there. And as a by-product to America’s initiative to see to Her own welfare She will see to the welfare of millions of others.

Robert Craven