Policy Proposal: Democracy in the Middle East, as painfully demonstrated by the popular elections of Hamas and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, among others, is hardly the humanitarian panacea the Bush Doctrine wishes it were. Instead, it is merely the legitimization of the sectarian (often radical) Islamic sentiments held by various backward, violent sects in the region. Democracy is only a positive political development if the majority's sentiments are worthy of expression in the rule of law, such as is the case in the West. Such is not the case in Iraq. The expression of democratic sentiments in Iraq risks either an intractable civil war or legitimizing the power of dangerous and disgusting characters, such as al-Qaida-linked Jihadists who are rapidly gaining widespread popularity in the volatile region. Instead, America and its allies should commence a military exit as soon as they can appoint a competent moderate, anti-terrorist Islamic strongman who can seize power in the nation, form a recognized government, avoid sectarian war, ensure general commerce, prosecute terrorists, refrain from regional belligerence, and generally enforce the rule of law. Beyond this, America should not attempt to impose its preferences in the creation of the Iraqi government. No profound democratic transformation should be thus sought from the Iraq venture; America's interference in the region should be henceforth limited to best mitigating the geopolitical damage the invasion has already caused.
Policy Proposal: America's foreign policy toward the Middle East should be one of constructive, pragmatic disengagement. Beyond the assiduous prosecution and pursuit of known al-Qaida leaders, America should generally refrain from political meddling in the volatile region whenever possible. Much antipathy toward the U.S. in the region - including Osama bin Laden's 1996 declaration of war against America - is due to perceptions of American military or economic hegemony against Islam, based on previous ill-conceived American-led interventions in the region. However, neither American military resources nor its historical lessons support such preemptive aggression, uninvited political interference, or colonial peacekeeping. America's intervention in the region, as well as around the world, should be restricted to the discovery and obliteration of specific, direct security threats to the nation. Such a policy preserves military resources, maximizes military effectiveness, and simultaneously deprives the jihadists of the very U.S. policies against which they are supposedly fighting. The Bush Doctrine should be repudiated.
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