Is democracy empowering Islamists?

[rodeodance]

....At Thursday's press conference, Bush said the election is a "wake-up call" to the old guard Palestinian leadership. Others say it also blew a whistle in Washington. "We're seeing that, for now, the only alternative to secular regimes in the Middle East are the Islamists," says Malka. "They're the only ones who have legitimacy among the people."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060127/ts_csm/ahamas&printer=1;_ylt=AvQ90wrq2nXeNuKfs39H_GeOe8UF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
Is democracy empowering Islamists?

By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer of The Christian Science MonitorFri Jan 27, 3:00 AM ET

Palestinian voters availed themselves of the time- honored democratic right to "throw the bums out" in their first legislative elections in a decade Wednesday - exactly the kind of action implicit in President Bush's push for democracy in the Middle East.

But by snubbing the Fatah Party of US-supported Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in favor of the radical Islamist group Hamas, Palestinians also put the Bush administration in a difficult spot.

The US might now seem hypocritical to many Arabs - encouraging democracy in the Middle East, while rejecting the choices that result from its exercise. At the same time, questions mount over whether Mr. Bush's campaign for democracy is encouraging the empowerment of Islamist militants across the region.....

[ClintonTyree]

1. Democracy only counts when it.............

comes out the way the Bushistas want it to. That's been evident since they stopped counting the votes in Florida in 2000. To them, Democracy is "quaint", an old fashioned notion long since abandoned in favor of the more modern, "Diebold Path To Victory". Assclowns! :grr:

[The2ndWheel]

2. It worked for

Manifest Destinyists, it should work for anyone.

[TheBaldyMan]

3. Bush is empowerating islamist factions ...

exhibiting double standards tends to do just that. Arabs aren't dumb and can see Bush for what he is.

[Igel]

4. Certainly.

I'd write more, but only if I could write much, much more. So I'll leave it at that.

"The US might now seem hypocritical to many Arabs - encouraging democracy in the Middle East, while rejecting the choices that result from its exercise." Yes, they might, but then those Arabs would be showing they need to grow up. One might encourage free elections and respect the results without necessarily approving and countenancing the results. Similarly, you might respect the decisions your son makes concerning college, religion, sexual partner(s), job ... without paying his tuition, going to worship with him, inviting his partner(s) to stay with you, or being proud of his job. The distinction is not trivial, nor is it terribly hard to understand.