Democractic Institutions and Iraq

Laurie King-Irani demands that we "stand up and speak out, if we wish to be worthy of the title 'democrats,'" precisely because "those stern men and women who want to bring 'democracy' to the Arab-Islamic world -- by force if necessary -- can, ironically, only realize their perilous plans by first dismantling democracy in the United States of America."

They can only pull off their neo-con artist sleight-of-hand if they first succeed in shutting down public debate and decisively strangling participatory grassroots politics in the US.

Reports and revelations from inside-the-beltway indicate that the neo-cons and their lackeys in the mainstream media are working overtime to disable critical thought, derail historical consciousness, fragment opposition, sever solidarity, and deflect any questions that might expose what they are really up to, and what they have been planning for over two decades in the brightly lit and elegantly appointed offices of some of Washington DC's wealthiest think-tanks.

With demagoguery, knee jerk patriotism, and pusillanimous punditry reaching levels unseen in the US capital since the McCarthy era, few journalists, policy makers or elected representatives are willing to speak publicly about the dangerous repercussions -- or the troubling antecedents -- of current unilateralist American designs in the Middle East.

Also, Dennis Hans argues that Bush is getting ready to bring a version of democracy to Iraq, but not of the Jeffersonian variety. Rather, he's getting ready to export "warlord democratic federalism."