<http://www.townhall.com/columnists/paulgreenberg/printpg20050307.shtml>
Townhall.com Freedom tide a-rising Paul Greenberg (back to web version) | Send March 7, 2005 It's not just the Iraqi elections that inspire hope, or the formation of the first real parliament that country has known for half a century, if ever. Democracy seems to be gaining ground all over the Middle East. The surest sign that freedom is coming to that part of the world is how nervous the region's autocratic rulers seem. Nervous enough to make at least some gestures in the direction of government by the consent of the governed, which may be an old principle here in the West but is quite a novelty in the Arab East. Look what happened in Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, formally its president and informally its pharaoh, ordered his parliament to set up direct, free, secret, multi-party elections for president. That would be an unprecedented step. The Land of the Pharaohs has never known anything like a real republic, as opposed to the sham kind that are republics in name only, as in United Arab Republic. There hasn't been a democracy in Egypt since the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. And in the Valley of the Nile, the memory of man runneth way back. But the hieroglyphs reveal no trace of any election returns. Yet here was the de-facto dictator of Egypt sounding like one of the dissenters his secret police usually lock up, promising his people a real choice at the polls. Hosni Mubarak may have been be just talking through his tarboosh. But that he feels the need to talk a democratic game is heartening evidence that the Middle East is changing. In his State of the Union message, President Bush ever so diplomatically told Egypt's dictator to get with the program: "The great and proud nation of Egypt, which showed the way toward peace in the Middle East, can now show the way toward democracy in the Middle East." Can the word be getting through? Even if General Mubarak is only trying to protect Egypt's $2-billion-a-year subsidy from Washington, that he should feel the need to make a gesture in the direction of democracy says something about the pressure being exerted on the Middle East's dictators. It certainly won't hurt America's long-abused standing in the Arab world to be associated with democracy instead of the usual dictatorships Washington has supported in the name of an elusive "stability." The all-too-conventional wisdom holds that democracy is impossible in Arab countries. That's what the so-called realists in foreign policy have been telling us for years, but look how unreal their advice has proven. Instead of stability, their counsel has set the stage for chaos, terror and generations of resentment. Isn't it time to give democracy a chance? Look at the galvanizing effect of all those purple fingers raised in defiance of the terrorists in Iraq. Elections, real ones, free ones, do have an effect. They clear away all the propaganda about just what people really want in a country like Iraq and a region like the Middle East. More good news: In post-Arafat Palestine, a new, freely elected leader is working up his nerve for the showdown with terrorism that will have to precede any real Arab-Israeli peace. And note the welcome turn of events in long-occupied Lebanon. To quote Walid Jumblatt, a leader of one Lebanese faction: It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq. I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. . . . The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it. And now Lebanon's puppet government, its strings long pulled by Damascus, has resigned in disgrace. Its usual tactic - blame the Americans and Israelis for everything bad happening in Lebanon, including the assassination of a popular former prime minister - didn't work this time. A new wind is sweeping through the Middle East. Eyes are opening. People are beginning to realize their own power - and find the courage to exercise it. The cynics just might be surprised by how powerful an appeal freedom has in that part of the world. Hosni Mubarak may think he's only paying a little prudent lip service to democracy, but he may find out that he's set in motion a process no dictator can stop. Remember Mikhail Gorbachev? He was just going to do some economic restructuring and let people speak a little more freely in his one-party state. But before his experiment was over, there was no more Soviet Union. Freedom has a momentum of its own. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. Bring education to life by funding a specific classroom project. http://us.click.yahoo.com/FHLuJD/_WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
