I do think that countries can work without democracy, and obviously there are many styles of republics and democracies. However, I do not think democracy is the problem itself.
The problem is that successful democratic revolutions needs two things (I am sure there are others too), There needs to be certain amount of public support, and there need to be strong responsible leaders.
It is difficult to know if a foreign country has enough popular support for revolution. Enough individuals have to be willing to put their life styles, families, and lives on the line. Even with the insurgency I am not sure this is a problem in Iraq.
Now the second part, responsible, charismatic leaders are impossible to predict. During and after our own (American) revolution we had leaders, particularly Washington, who were able to put personal power aside in order to secure the countries future. We simply cannot know if the proper people will step up to the plate in Iraq. Unfortunately it is much more common for a dictator to rise to power, than it is for a George Washington ( a man who refused to keep power after two terms as president).
If Iraq is lucky enough to develop good leadership it will still be a long road to a stable country. It is possible that the new government will fulfill this roll. However the risk we took going into Iraq was a great one. To make the war worth while the reward will have to be equally great.
I hope the country stabilizes and that it dose become a beacon of democracy, but even if it does it may not encourage Muslims to reject the radical Islamic ideas that spawn terrorism. For that we may have to take some non-military approaches.
The problem is that successful democratic revolutions needs two things (I am sure there are others too), There needs to be certain amount of public support, and there need to be strong responsible leaders.
It is difficult to know if a foreign country has enough popular support for revolution. Enough individuals have to be willing to put their life styles, families, and lives on the line. Even with the insurgency I am not sure this is a problem in Iraq.
Now the second part, responsible, charismatic leaders are impossible to predict. During and after our own (American) revolution we had leaders, particularly Washington, who were able to put personal power aside in order to secure the countries future. We simply cannot know if the proper people will step up to the plate in Iraq. Unfortunately it is much more common for a dictator to rise to power, than it is for a George Washington ( a man who refused to keep power after two terms as president).
If Iraq is lucky enough to develop good leadership it will still be a long road to a stable country. It is possible that the new government will fulfill this roll. However the risk we took going into Iraq was a great one. To make the war worth while the reward will have to be equally great.
I hope the country stabilizes and that it dose become a beacon of democracy, but even if it does it may not encourage Muslims to reject the radical Islamic ideas that spawn terrorism. For that we may have to take some non-military approaches.
