bother. The next step has been taken, to establish a military government. Seems like days of old. When is the last time we have imposed a military rule anywhere? Leave it to George Bush to do that. He dwells in the past, the the rule of the wild west - but we shouldn't have to go there with him.

The military rule in Iraq will require the elimination of any remnants of the old regime. That means any Baathists that are left will have to be eliminated. That means some more people are going to die.

And then democracy? WELL, not necessarily. And in this case, not at all.

Regime change and the process of imposing the American (George Bush) will on the Iraqis strongly suggests that the process of democratization will BE LESS THAN DEMOCRATIC.

It is much more complex than the simple redefining of democracy for Iraq even as that is what they plan to do. They will create what they want and then they will call it democracy.

Democracy should also protect the rights of those with minority views andnot just the majority or the rights of those who can pay for those views. And, surely you knew that happens?

But it has not always done that way either. Just getting there - to the point where you can have a well-oiled, functioning system of democracy requires a lot of work and a proper set of codified rules.

American democracy was originally established only for WHITE MEN WITH PROPERTY.

NOT WOMEN, NOT INDIANS, NOT BLACKS.

It did not at first provide protections under a Bill of Rights. That came later and was not a popular addition to the U.S. Constitution.

And American democracy is NOW being assaulted by the new Patriot Acts and other laws WHICH TAKES AWAY OUR PRIVACY AND SOME VERY IMPORTANT INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS - and provides for the jailing of suspected terrorists without charges or trial where the assumption is: You can now be guilty so therefore you go straight to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $500. YOU have just been incarcerated for as long as it takes - which can be indefinitely.

Democracy is in crisis in America and George Bush says he is going to impose democracy in Iraq which has never had democratic traditions of any kind. So who is going to define this democracy in Iraq? It can't be an Islamic government. SO, can it be Communist? George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld haven't said but I can guarantee they will not approve anything short of a capitalist system headed by someone who is specifically hand picked by George Bush.

I can also guarantee that this "new" Iraq will have several U.S. military bases to protect American oil investments and Iraq will fit in as a transnational marketplace which has already been planned and blueprinted and part of the overall "new" World Order.

Maybe not exactly the "will of ALL the people" but certainly the will of the rich and powerful.

Hank Roth

http://pnews.org/

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