How to Rig a Democracy

President Bush's ultimatum to Palestinian leadership that it must democratize raises an interesting quesion: “What if the United States were as serious about saving the Arabs from corrupt autocrats and radical Islam as it once was about saving the world from communism?” If the US were to employ all of its Cold War methods, it could make inroads in bringing democracy to the region. However, in order to accomplish its goals, the US must remain committed to its task and cannot set expectations too high. In addition, the US must withdraw its exclusive support for Israel as well as its support of repressive leaders with known human rights abuses like those of Saudi Arabia. Still, analysts caution against drawing the Cold War analogy too brightly. Even if the U.S. were to support modernizing efforts, those who received support could be dubbed as American or Israeli puppets. –YaleGlobal