Iraq War Hurts Democracy

Night Light: Conference Debacle Confirms: Iraq War Hurts Democracy in Middle East: "'Some delegates,' says the Times, 'saw &hellips; growing irritation with what some say is the lecturing tone of American calls for democracy. United States involvement in Iraq plays a part in that: the Arab world is not persuaded by the administration's portrayal of Iraq, which Secretary Rice visited on Friday, as a beacon of democracy.' Well, Karen Hughes ought to be able to fix that! 'Rather,' writes the Times, 'Iraq represents the perils of imposing democracy from outside. Its current chaos and violence is widely seen as a cautionary tale rather than an inspiration, American officials acknowledge.' (emphasis mine) So we've seen the deaths of more than 2,000 American heroes and tens of thousands of Iraqis, and the expenditure of hundreds of billions of dollars. The result? The one cause we can all support is being set back, perhaps for decades to come."