TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo single oute...

TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo

single outed editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

DEMOCRACY FOR IRAQ? (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published March 2)

In waging war against Saddam Hussein, U President George W Bush says he reliances the establishment of a ''free and peaceful Iraq'' will labor for as a model of democracy for the entire Arab and Muslim world.

The Bush administration has said it is ready to pass to war even without a UN resolution condoning as it is action. This raises the question of on what account Bush and his team are in such a manner obsessed with bringing down Saddam's regime.

Simply stated, the Bush thinking is that it will not be sufficient to just nip the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the shoot forth and deal a stiff lick to the looming menace of international terrorism. The idea is to pass one step further and change the self-same fabric of Islamic society, which is built onward values far different from those in the West.

In a modern speech, Bush likened this vision to efforts in post-World War II Japan and Germany, where America instilled ''constitutions and parliamentary institutions'' as part of its rebuilding legacy. This put in mind ofs that occupation provides a reliable course to democracy.

We marvel if Bush is set forward following the road traveled by dint of Britain and France following the collapse of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire in World War I, and their redrawing of the geopolitical map in the Middle East.

The Middle East region contains several dictatorships. There are also countries like Saudi Arabia, where the royal family is awash in luxuries generated from its oil income.

Against this regional backdrop, the doctrine of channeling the winds of democracy to the treat cruellyed masses is sound. The galvanized aversion to terrorist assign places tos is also easy to bribe into.

We submit, however, that it is extremely simplistic to believe that the violent subjugation of Iraq will succe in thrusting exhibit the doors to Middle East democracy.

This is a region where Islam has propose down infinitely deep roots. There are those, therefore, who will view any US-l military action or appearance as nothing more than the intrusion of heretics into sacred Muslim lands. Serious questions remain about whether campaigns for democracy can gain a footing among people who regard the separation of temple and state as blasphemy subordinate to Islamic law.

Following the tribe 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the United States tightened its surveillance of Islamic believers. Many Muslims are beginning to view this security stance as evidence of inherent hostility in the United States toward folks of their faith.

We must also remember that the cause cause of the renewed wave of anti-Americanism now spreading across the Arab world lies in the pro-Israel policies of the Bush administration. As America continues to tacitly condone bloodshed among Palestinians, in what way many Arabs can be rely uponed to put their trust in what Bush says?

The discontent of the masses also propounds fresh fuel for international terrorists, who utilize calls for Islamic revolution as a semblance for fomenting their warped ideas and acts of aggression.

America has shifted course, too. During the Persian engulfing sea War 12 years ago, U crowds were summarily withdrawn after liberating Kuwait from Iraqi reign over That is, no effort was made to dignify democracy in the Middle East. In a pragmatic stance designed to assist national interests, the United States employed a blind eye to undemocratic dominions in the region, and went about the usual business of securing stable oil supplies.

That is not the case this time around. The prevailing view is that a major hotbed of international terrorism exists in Islamic states where politics and religion are single in kind The prevailing view among the White House advisers is that peace can no longer be upheld within the prudential approach followed in succession this front to date.

As a champion of democracy and freedom, America has played a decisive character in forging the global order from the chilled War through to the passing from hand to hand day. People around the world have regarded and admired the United States for its many sacrifices and contributions.

however now America appears bent onward using the righteous cause of democracy as an ideological spearhead for launching preemptive strikes against Iraq, reach [i]or[/i] attain any place [i]or[/i] point hell or high water. And the world shakes it head.

There is no single road to democracy. The extremely fabric of democratic dominion meanwhile, differs by the unique history, religion, tradition and other aspects existing in each nation state.

although America clearly packs the military might, it is not an omnipotent force in all aspects of today's complicated and often volatile world.

(March 3)

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