As far as I can tell, most of the Islamic world has been governed by Sultanates and Caliphates throughout their history. Their society has traditionally been strictly socially structured and their politics intertwined with their religion.
Iraq (known before as Mesopotamia), considers itself the cradle of civilization, and the Westerners as upstarts and for the most part, infidels. They are apparently very proud of their history. Democracy is a largely Western European concept. Those influences were prominent in the development of the Republic of South Africa, and Nicaragua (even though "caudillismo" was a cultural by-product of independence from Spain throughout most of Latin America) and of course in the US colonies. Whether or not you or I think it is worth it to establish a Democracy there is not at issue. Unfortunately, many people in that part of the world consider Democracy to be very closely aligned with Imperialism and Colonialism. That is to say the resources of that area will be used and exploited by more powerful Western nations once "their kind of government" is established there. If the insurgency is not enough for you to see that we are not wanted there, perhaps you would present some evidence that people are waiting anxiously for a Democratic type of government in Iraq. On 1/10/05 11:03 AM, "Brian Siano" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Wilma de Soto wrote: > >> However, this nebulous rationale of bringing Democracy to the Iraqi people >> who are culturally disinclined to accept it, is far less of a reason for >> troops to be killed by insurgents. We are not wanted there either. >> > I would like to see some evidence about how Iraqis are "culturally > disinclined" to accept democracy. How do they differ from, say, > Nicaraguans in the mid-1980s, South Africans in the 1980s, or American > colonists circa 1770? > > Such information would be invaluable in foreign-policy planning. We > could look at a culture and decide, "Well, it wouldn't be worth > establishing a democracy there. They're culturally disinclined." It'd > save a lot of trouble, especially on the part of any activists within > those cultures, like union organizers or journalists. We could present > this evidence and tell them, 'You see? You're wasting your time. Your > culture is disinclined towards democracy.'" > > ---- > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the > list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see > <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
