FAKE DEMOCRACY

Pres. Bush recently toured the Middle East
bragging about the "democracy" we set up in
Iraq. But it is a sham, and everyone but Bush
understands that. Democracies are ruled by
law, and protect minorities. Iraq is ruled by
warring militias and tribal groups, and ethnic
cleansing continues, with 100 or more murders
each week. (104 civilian deaths by violence
between 1/19 and 1/24/08).

The highly sectarian (Shia) "government" lives
and operates behind thick walls in the Green
Zone, and wants us to stay and protect them
until at least 2018! In a real democracy, the
government operates openly among, and is
supported by, the people. That doesn't happen
in Iraq because we never bothered to establish
law and order there. People can still get up in the
morning and find a note on their door that says:
"you have 24 hours to be out of this house and
neighborhood, or you and your family will be
killed." It does no good to call the police,
because the police will not protect them, and
may, in fact be complicit with the folks who
wrote the note. The Republicans claim we are
"winning" in Iraq. Tell that to the 2+ million
who have fled their homes!

Iraq got it bassackwards: they were pushed by us
to have elections before they had public order, so
they were further polarized and fragmented.
"There is no military solution," say all of our
generals who have commanded there. And there
is no non-military solution either, that Bush is
willing to entertain. All he can offer is analogies
with Germany and Japan, where we have kept
troops for 60 years! And they aren't fighting us!

jgoodwin004@centurytel.net