In the name of democracy

The American newspaper, The Washington Post, revealed that the U.S. is planning to launch a campaign to establish democracy in the Middle East through reforms made to the economic, educational and political institutions.

It also revealed that an amount of $25 million will be allocated for such projects, in addition to other funds to be given to politicians, journalists and trade union leaders to promote pro-American views and policies and to change the sentiments of hatred in these countries towards the U.S.

The newspaper also mentioned that the U.S. Secretary of State would declare a specific plan in this respect next month.

The following is the Arab press' discussion of the U.S. intentions and their implications.

Although democracy is the best invention that evolved through the development of civilisations, it is not a magical tool that can realise the impossible. The West has always known that the Arab and Islamic worlds lack democracy, writes Dr Hassan Madan in Al-Khaleej (UAE).

However, the West has never found lack of democracy an obstacle in establishing close ties with these regimes, or defending or protecting them, or providing them with what they need to ensure their existence.

Indeed, if it weren't for such aid, the Arab and Islamic countries would have changed and democracy would have been established in a number of them. Therefore, the call for democracy is just an ideology to support the U.S. dominance, adds Dr Madan.

The paper also mentions that when the American administration was setting up this plan, it took into consideration the writings of the Soviet defector, Natan Chransky, who migrated to Israel, as these writings show the West's actions which contributed towards the disintegration of the former USSR and Eastern Europe under the slogan of democracy and human rights.

Thus, the U.S. wants to repeat this experience in the Arab and Islamic countries, says Dr Madan.

Expansion of power

Yet, the paper noted that this plan does not necessarily relate to the U.S.'s actual belief in democracy and its importance in these countries. Rather, it is related to the so-called new conservatives' desire to expand the U.S.'s power and influence overseas.

Such expansion of power, according to some analysts, requires the support of attractive political language such as the issue of democracy. This is evident in the U.S. call for surveillance of parliamentary elections, the right to form political parties, and training activists to defend democracy as revealed in the plan, adds Dr Madan.

However, the American administration that is adopting this project is keeping quiet about some of its allies who have prohibited the formation of political parties and amended the constitution so as to grant leaders more rights in order to guarantee their success in elections. Indeed, it has kept quiet because it is satisfied with such regimes, concludes Dr Madan.

The attempts of the Bush administration to change the tarnished image of the U.S. in the Arab and Islamic countries by talking about developing a media system that performs this mission and by encouraging democracy in the region will not lead to any results, writes Rajeh Al Khoury in Akhbar Al-Arab (UAE).

The assumption that the absence of democracy in this region – which is true – is the cause of the people's hatred for the U.S. is wrong on two counts. The first is the U.S. position in support of Israel's massacres against the Palestinians. Such bias and support of murderers are against democracy and human rights, says Al Khoury.

The second reason is that these nations' loathing for the hostile policies of the U.S. is just the tip of an iceberg, with the major part hidden beneath because of the lack of democracy in the region.

In fact, the regimes in this region suppress their people's abhorrence of the U.S. policies so as to protect their relation with Washington. Thus, the result of establishing democracy per se would make the U.S. face a flood of antagonism. Indeed, those who deny others' human rights reap their anger and antipathy, adds Al Khoury.

Don't preach

In fact, Washington is troubled about many things in order to enhance its relations with this region, but there is need only for one thing – that the U.S. should be democratic and respect others' human rights and freedom, concludes Al Khoury.

When did Bush notice that the countries in this region lack democracy? When did he discover that Saudi Arabia sponsors terrorism and that Egypt does not respect human rights? Was it before the September 11 attacks when the U.S. had good ties with these countries, or after that, questions Jamal Badawi in Al-Sharq (Qatar).

In fact, these countries did not provoke the sponsor of democracy after the September 11 attacks. On the contrary, they expressed their sympathy to the U.S. and backed the U.S. president in his international campaign to combat terrorism, adds Badawi.

So why is the U.S. now attacking Saudi Arabia and Egypt? Actually, the recent development in the ties between these countries and the U.S. reveal two positions that have angered the U.S. The first is these countries' rejection of Israel's extermination of Palestinians and the second is their opposition to the intended U.S. attack on Iraq, says Badawi.

Both Egypt and Saudi Arabia could have avoided such hostility if Egypt had blessed the attack on Iraq and if Saudi Arabia had contributed towards the expenses of the expected attack. If this had happened, the file of democracy and human rights would have been closed, adds Badawi.

The democracy that Bush is calling for is not the one that the fathers of liberalism preached, whose main principles are dialogue, rejection of violence and any change by force. Instead, Bush's democracy aims at changing the Iraqi regime with tanks and missiles, says Badawi.

Hopefully, Arab intellectuals won't be deceived by the U.S. call for democracy because the U.S. doesn't care about the liberties and human rights of the Arabs. On the contrary, it has always supported dictatorships and tyrants. It even supported the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, whom it now wants to topple.

In essence, democracy in the Arab world can be established only by its people and the democracy which the U.S. is calling for is only a palace made of sand, concludes Badawi.

The U.S. call for democracy has been made only when relations between Arabs and the U.S. have deteriorated. It criticises Arab and non-Arab countries for the absence of democracy only in such situations.

For instance, the U.S. puts Iraq, China and North Korea in the same basket, saying that they rule through undemocratic methods. But Washington knows that these countries do not differ much from others. Indeed, it does not criticise the other regimes because they are its allies, says Mohammad Abdul Khaleq in Al Watan (Oman).

It was mentioned in the newspaper that the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, will unveil a project that enhances democracy in the Arab countries and that the U.S aid will be reviewed. It is known that U.S. aid is given to those regimes that comply with Washington's conditions, protects its interests, and are loyal to it. But it