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October 22, 2004

The New Boss Isn't Doing A Great Job At Differentiating Himself From The Old Boss

I'm always amused when people seize upon Iwad Allawi's rhetoric about democracy as though it means something. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. (Current odds: twelve billion to 1 against.) But just the fact that a leader speaks about their commitment to democracy means nothing.

As an example, let's look at a recent statement by Allawi:

"Our decision to build a democratic society based on the constitution, the rule of law and political pluralism is a decisive, irrevocable decision... it is time to start building the pillar of the new faith, in spite of all the difficulties."

Sounds good, doesn't it? That Allawi, he really wants a democratic Iraq! And he won't back down!

Except... I lied. Allawi didn't say that. Those were the words of Saddam Hussein on March 16, 1991.

Posted at October 22, 2004 11:18 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Why pick at Allawi in particular? Bush now claims we went to war to install democracy in Iraq. The sincerity of his commitment to democracy can be gauged by his administration's policies in Venezuela, where they tried by crook and hook to rob the popular vote recipient of his office to install a plutocratic oligarchy. Oh, wait...

Posted by: Fazal Majid at October 23, 2004 06:28 AM