Old and New

Old and New 

Iranians to Train Iraq's Military

Iraq calls for ‘new page' in relations with Tehran

Iran Vows Support to Iraq Sovereignty

Tehran Asks Baghdad to Oppose Building of Foreign Bases

As the most recent developments unfold between Iraq and Iran reminded me of something that I wrote back in September of 2002 titled Dictator to Democracy. The last paragraphs are in my estimation worth repeating when noting the above noted articles and recently spoken words by Donald Rumsfeld .

One has to wonder just how long it would take Iraq to evolve into a democracy? Will it take a year? Two years? Ten years? Never? And noting the history of the U.S., doesn’t a democracy pose a similar threat to the U.S. hegemony? Will a democratic Iraq suffer the same fate of previous democracies should they stray from the democratic principles of the United States?

If Bush thinks that he is capable of stemming the tide of history, he should be prepared to accept the responsibility of failure. Historically, the United States government has overturned more democratically elected governments in favor of supporting dictatorships than it has overturned dictatorships in favor of supporting democracies.

From all indications, Bush neither prepared, nor willing to accept responsibility for his failures.