The Eagle Contemplates...Alternatives

A short while ago I wrote a blog entitled The Eagle Has Landed...Again. This blog mentions that America's attempts to export democracy, especially in central and south America, has usually ended with America supporting dictatorships and juntas rather than establishing democracies. In fact, America has had very little success at establishing democratic governments anywhere in the world. But it has had quite a bit of experience at supporting dictatorships and military juntas.

The reason I am going over material covered so recently is that I read an article this morning, posted by Reuters, that covers some statements made by Mr. Bush concerning the "..fragile democracies" in Lebanon and Iraq. He goes on to assert that ".. security in the United States depends on democracy taking hold in the Middle East."

But there was an even more interesting and noteworthy element to this particular article. There is a small paragraph, almost invisible to the un-cynical eye, that I would like to share with you.

"The New York Times this week quoted an unnamed military- affairs expert who was briefed at the White House last month as saying senior administration officials acknowledged that they are "considering alternatives other than democracy" in Iraq, which the White House denied."

Is this a "Come back Saddam..all is forgiven" switch in American foreign policy? Is there a new and improved Saddam lurking in the shadows? Or does this simply reflect the non-competency of these so-called policy makers? They seem to be coming to the realization that they have bitten off much more than they can chew when it comes to "exporting" democracy.

Like Vietnam, where America spent over a decade supporting an unpopular and despotic government, Iraq has proven to be a much more difficult project than was first imagined during those late night sessions between Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others at the PNAC .

Civil War? Renewed Dictatorship? Islamic State? Will there be three Iraqs in the future, Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd?

Stay tuned and see what the future has in store for the Middle-East...and America.