Bush relaunches campaign for democracy but US policy provokes backlash across the world

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Bush relaunches campaign for democracy but US policy provokes backlash across the world

· President rebukes Putin for 'derailing' reform
· Iraq war has undercut trust in western values

Ian Traynor in Prague
Wednesday June 6, 2007
The Guardian

George Bush last night sought to breathe new life into his
administration's campaign to spread democracy and end
despotism across the world, declaring that "extremists,
radicals, and tyrants" - not America - were seeking to impose
their values on other countries.

In a speech in Prague, the capital of 1989's Velvet Revolution
and vibrant symbol of a successful shift from totalitarianism to
democracy, the US president conceded failures in his second-
term pledge to advance global liberty. But he insisted that
his controversial campaign would pay off in the end.

-snip-

But the mood among the activists, analysts, and politicians,
many of them architects of revolutions over the past 18 years
or dissidents threatened by regimes at home, was one of
growing scepticism and feeling beleaguered.

-snip-

"Democracy promotion is in a bit of a crisis at the moment,"
said Pavol Demes, a Slovak, an analyst involved in toppling
dictators or authoritarians in Slovakia, Serbia, and Ukraine
over the past decade. "The war on terrorism and the use of
force has complicated everything. It's all connected with the
Bush policies. People link democracy promotion with the war
in Iraq. Exporting democracy has become highly ideological
and controversial."

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2096361,00.html

[hobbit709]

1. Where is this "democracy" of which he speaks?

[opihimoimoi]

2. Bush LIES...the Democracy he descibes is not what he practicess

The World knows he is off his rocker

[AndyA]

3. We don't even have Democracy at home any more.

Our elections are stolen.

We're spied on.

We're taxed disproportionately.

We have a gang of criminals running our government.

Our government no longer works for us, but against us.

Habeus Corpus is gone.

We're still allowed to move about more or less freely, but when the insane idiot in the White House decides it is no longer beneficial for us to do so, he can have us put away without Congressional oversight. And our wimpy Congress would no doubt just let him do it.

Where's the Democracy? It's merely for appearances, that is all. :shrug: