"America has a clear interest in helping to establish good governance throughout
the world. Democracy is a noble ideal, and promoting it abroad is the right
long-term goal of U.S. policy. But democracy cannot be achieved rapidly or
sustained unless it is built on sound legal, institutional, and cultural
foundations. It can only work if people have a reasonable degree of safety and
security. Elections are necessary but not sufficient to establish genuine
democracy. Aspiring dictators sometimes win elections, and elected leaders
sometimes govern badly and threaten their neighbors. History demonstrates that
democracy usually follows good governance, not the reverse. U.S. assistance can
do much to set nations on the road to democracy, but we must be realistic about
how much we can accomplish alone and how long it will take to achieve lasting
progress.
The election of Hamas in the Palestinian-controlled
territories is a case in point. The problem there is not the lack of statehood
but corrupt and unaccountable governance. The Palestinian people need decent
governance first, as a prerequisite for statehood. Too much emphasis has been
placed on brokering negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians —
negotiations that bring up the same issues again and again. It is not in the
interest of the United States, at a time when it is being threatened by Islamist
terrorists, to assist the creation of another state that will support terrorism.
Palestinian statehood will have to be earned through sustained good governance,
a clear commitment to fighting terrorism, and a willingness to live in peace
with Israel. America’s commitment to Israel’s security is a permanent feature of
our foreign policy."
I have posted this before, but I wanted to re-post it because I focused on the last half of it last time. I think he makes some solid points in the first paragraph. Democracy is about more than voting, it is a cultural attitude, and a change that takes time. It makes me wonder if Iraq needs more time before it can be a democracy. I am not suggesting that they can't ever be democratic, but that they need to learn how to understand it. Democracy is not voting for the person who shares your beliefs, it is not voting for the person your spouse votes for, it is not voting for a fellow member of your extended clan or tribe. It is voting for the person with the best ideas. I think that sometimes this is lost, this is lost even in America sometimes, and we have a long history of elections.
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