Wow.

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As the long time reader of this blog and BraunlichBlog before it knows, I've only recently come around to the skeptical view of our mission in the Middle East. Consequently my defence of the position is admittedly weak. Yet in a nice bit of providence, Cliff May at the Corner pointed me towards this article by Martin Kramer.

It is a great questioning of the neoconservative position regarding the Middle East, and reflects many of my concerns. One of my favorite lines:

"In the promotion of democracy, however, it is important to bear two things in mind. The first is to distinguish between the places where pressing for it might do good from those places where it is more likely to do harm. ... The second is to remember that these are times of war, not times of peace, and that means we may continue to find ourselves in bed with dictators and despots for some time to come. "

Frankly, Iraq was a mistake to the extent that we probably won't get a real democracy there - which was one of the goals. Among other things there is not a strong support for pluralism there. (Note: I do realize that the final election tally will require the Shiites to compromise... but that doesn't mean there will be true pluralism.) Also no democratic traditions or protection for civilians. It would fall under "the places where pressing for [democracy]... is more likely to harm."

That said I do think there is a lot of potential for the exercise of soft power to bring democracy to the Middle East. There is simmering resentment in Iran among democratic activists at the mullahs. In Lebanon there seems to be a movement against the autocratic Syrian occupiers. Both of these could become democracies, but only if the desire comes from within their borders. The US can only stand on the sideline and cheer.