Democracy in the Arab World, a U.S. Goal, Falters - New York Times

Democracy in the Arab World, a U.S. Goal, Falters - New York Times:

Analysts and officials say the political rise of Islamists, the chaos in Iraq, the newfound Shiite power in Iraq with its implication for growing Iranian influence, and the sense among some rulers that they can wait out the end of the Bush administration have put the brakes on democratization.

'It feels like everything is going back to the bad old days, as if we never went through any changes at all,' said Sulaiman al-Hattlan, editor in chief of Forbes Arabia and a prominent Saudi columnist and advocate. 'Everyone is convinced now that there was no serious or genuine belief in change from the governments. It was just a reaction to pressure by the international media and the U.S.'

This was the outcome expected by the "real" analysts, the ones Bush and Company wouldn't listen to, before the invasion of Iraq. In the end, we will have made things worse than they were before we put our foot in it in Iraq. We started this crap when we set up the Shah there. Now they have another reason to hate us and dedicate themselves to our destruction. Just wonderful.