BAGHDAD -- A coalition of Shiite Muslim political parties with ties to Iran won a commanding number of seats in Iraq's Dec. 15 elections, according to preliminary results released today and unofficial numbers gleaned from around the country.
GOI: Isn't Iran on the "axis of evil??" I thought so. Interesting form of "Democracy" that they have going on over there. One dominated by religious political parties. So much for the separation of church and state which is a hallmark of most Democracy's. I guess we should call it a "Theocratic Democracy" then which seems to me to be a "Democracy" in name only. I wonder how many Christian right-wingers would agree that an America dominated and run by Islamic clerics would be a "free Democracy?"
I don't know how much more of this "Democracy" Iraqis' can deal with!
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3 comments:
That's a good find. I did an entry on the NYTimes version which left that inconvenient Iran part out.
I'm gonna steal the link and credit you.
Mike
I think you have a point, James. It will be very interesting to see what happens. I am a bit skeptical that Iraq is going to be the booming Democracy they say it will be. De Tocqueville, when traveling the U.S. soon after the Revolution, was impressed with what he saw in the American people. It was the moral and religious strength of the people that make democracy work.
I don't know how the Iraqi people are in terms of having the mettle to live under a democracy. I think they do, but I'm going to remain in a holding pattern for a while.
Picking up on UL's point: We have seen the Russians' Democracy corrode, giving sway to a near-authoritarian government. But giving Putin a strong hand seems to be what most Russians want.
I would suppose that Iraq is not going to have the kind of government that most Americans could abide for themselves. But it may do what most Iraqis want done and be a sustainable institution. Even if it does turn out to be non-protective of civil liberties, it would not be another Saddamist dictatorship: The public won't allow that.
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