In a recent speech at the American University in Cairo, Rice said, "For 60 years, my country, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region, here in the Middle East, and we achieved neither."
She continued, "Throughout the Middle East the fear of free choices can no longer justify the denial of liberty.”
"It is time to abandon the excuses that are made to avoid the hard work of democracy.”
"Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
“The supporters of the dictators are again hypocritically talking about democracy,” is a common response to such statements in the Third World.
In her speech Rice called for the establishment of democracy in the Middle East and criticized Egypt and Saudi Arabia for suppressing local opposition movements.
In recent history, the U.S. has never hesitated to sacrifice democracy in pursuit of its interests in any part of the world. Its support for dictatorial regimes has not been confined to the Middle East. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency was directly involved in the overthrow of the populist government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973 and brought to power General Augusto Pinochet, who brutally suppressed his opponents and was involved in the infamous Operation Condor. The U.S. turned a blind eye to the killing of over one million Indonesians during the purge ordered by General Suharto after his 1965 coup.
Long before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, U.S. agents were trying to create a distorted version of Islam to block the expansion of communism. This effort was given more impetus with the invasion of Afghanistan, which eventually led to the emergence of the Taleban and the Al-Qaeda network. Afghanistan became a sanctuary for those who, at the bidding of their masters, introduced a distorted interpretation of Islam completely incompatible with democracy.
The September 11 attacks by the Al-Qaeda network in fact forced Washington to revise its policies, even though there is still serious doubt about the U.S. push for democracy in the Arab world.
Extremists who had never been allowed to air their voices in their own countries tried to vent their anger against the U.S. and now have sneaked into Iraq and created a sense of insecurity in that country through their suicide attacks, to the extent that more than 8000 Iraqis have been killed in terrorist actions over the past six months.
Of course, the suppression of opposition voices in Arab states and the introduction of a distorted version of Islam during the Cold War era are not the only root causes of extremism and the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. government’s unquestioning and illogical support of Israel is surely another major factor which U.S. officials should not ignore.
Rice made another significant point during her recent Middle East trip when she said that the Palestinians must have a state that meets their aspirations or there will be no Middle East peace. Rice added that Israel must yield territory and create "conditions in which a new Palestinian state could emerge", saying, "I don't think any of us doubt that without a Palestinian state that is viable, that can meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people, there really isn't going to be a peace for either the Palestinian people or the Israelis."
Although Rice’s remarks look very promising at first glance, the policies which Washington has been following since the establishment of the Zionist regime prove the opposite. However, the 9/11 attacks may make Washington revise its policies toward Tel Aviv in the long run, but that seems unlikely.
Both Democrats and Republicans should not deceive themselves by assuming that the lack of democracy in the Arab world is the only cause for insecurity in the Middle East and the September 11 attacks. In fact, ending their unscrupulous support for dictatorial regimes in the Middle East is not enough. U.S. officials should also bravely acknowledge that their all-out financial and political support for Tel Aviv over the years and their incitement of religious extremism as a counter to communism have put the U.S. and its interests across the world in danger.
MS/HG
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MNA
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