So far the condemnation is unanimous...
US President George W. Bush was strongly criticized for his strategy to spread democracy in the Middle East. Agriculture Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who attended a remembrance service in the Nabatieh town of Dweir on Sunday on behalf of the Amal Movement, slammed Bushâs remarks about freedom and democracy. âWe shall never, in this part of the world, fall for such traps of calling for new democracies,â the minister told an audience that included a number of MPs.
| "We're perfectly happy with our dictatorships and our kleptocracies, 'cuz that's our culture and we ain't never, ever gonna change. We'll continue worrying about our dignity much more than we'll ever worry about our accomplishments." |
He cited Bushâs recent remarks, in which the latter pledged to âachieve new and modern democraciesâ in the Middle East. Khalil added that he was unwilling to believe democracy slogans uttered by Bush, and questioned what kind of democracy Bush would want if he âsigned on $87 billion to finance the war in Iraq in support of invasion, thus preventing people from exercising the right of political self-expression.â
| Notice he's using the Baathist frame of reference. The People™ are the faceless Masses™. They are personified by the Leader™, with freedumb accruing to The State™, which exercises it. Therefore, Bush — by dumping Sammy — prevented the Iraqi People™ from exercising their right to political self-expression. Humpty Dumpty might understand the logic, otherwise it's opaque to anyone who's not a fascist... |
âWhat democracy does he (Bush) want when he finances wars and bloodshed and pretends to champion human rights and international law?â Khalil asked. âWhat kind of logic is this that causes millions of people to die of starvation?â
| Seems like a lot more Iraqis have died from car bombs lately than have kicked it due to starvation. |
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