Illiberal democracy

DallasBlog.com | Wes Riddle:

“Often I’ve heard the president say that ‘Democracies are peaceful countries,’ and I’m left to wonder what bozo taught him that. Even if the rationale were halfway correct, we don’t possess unlimited resources or power to transform the world at will. To abandon balance of power, deterrence and punitive action in favor of a scheme to recast political cultures of broad regions around the world is foolhardy.”

Ed Cognoski responds:

President Bush has admirable instincts in wanting to see democracy flower in the Middle East in hopes that liberty will follow. Unfortunately, he's learning the painful lesson that, whereas democracy may be essential for liberty, democracy itself does not always result in liberty. Worse, he's learning that you can't spread democracy by the barrel of a gun. So, although he might have wanted both democracy and liberty to sweep the Middle East, he is likely to end up with neither.