Maybe Spreading Democracy Is Not A Good Thing

A suicide car bomber killed 19 police officers and cadets on Feb. 19 outside a Baghdad police academy. Mohammed Ameen/Reuters

Exporting Democracy — Importing Trouble -- George Jonas, National Post

I think it was Alfred Kerr, the German critic nicknamed the “culture pope” in his day, who once said that he had been writing the same dozen pieces all his life. I suspect I have, too. Theatre critics keep returning to certain themes because playwrights keep returning to them; social critics do because life does. I’ve been writing for years that exporting democracy is importing trouble.

Can’t improve the Ten Commandments, but if Moses were to go back for another 10, the next set might include “Thou Shalt Build No Nation But Thine Own.” Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush was wise when he declared “no nation-building” during his first campaign for the White House. Had president Bush heeded candidate Bush’s sage advice, he would have disengaged his forces from Iraq after the capture of Saddam Hussein as rapidly as possible. Had he done so, chances are a) most coalition soldiers who lost their lives in the Second Gulf War would still be alive, and b) Mr. Bush’s approval rating would have stayed between 80% to 90% throughout his presidency.

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My Comment: Not much that I can disagree with in this post, but .... could have .... should have .... would have. Hindsight is a beautiful thing .... but not useful in the real world.