The highly publicized election in Afghanistan yesterday has documented the fatal flaw in the foreign policy George W. Bush is pursuing which is, the Spreading Democracy Theory. This is the holy Grail of foreign-policy which is supposed to make America safer and for which we are willing to sacrifice our young men and women.
The problem with this idea is that in many areas of Afghanistan, the voters DID NOT KNOW any candidates running for office. At the polling places, voters talked among themselves as to who each was going to vote for since no one knew any of the candidates. They did not know what they stood for and might as well have closed their eyes and voted. The reason for this is the candidates were afraid to campaign or make themselves known for fear of assassination. This is the very same thing that has taken place in many locations in Iraq. Many candidates in the highly touted Iraqi election were not known until the voters saw their names on the ballot FOR THE FIRST TIME when they voted! George Bush does not realize that the Muslim populations in these countries are simply not ready for democracy. Until there is security, that will allow candidates to make themselves and what they stand for known to the voters, there can be NO REAL DEMOCRACY! We are not even close to that in either Iraq or Afghanistan!
