Daniel Sneider (KRT): Key U.S. allies shun democracy

[Bozita]

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/editorial/9712862.htm

Posted on Mon, Sep. 20, 2004

Key U.S. allies shun democracy

BY DANIEL SNEIDER
Knight Ridder Newspapers


(KRT) - President Bush has been telling campaign audiences across the country that the war in Iraq is a battle for democracy. But when it comes to two prominent American allies in the war on Islamic terrorism, the soaring rhetoric about democracy gets muted.

Last week the White House uttered barely a peep as the leaders of Russia and Pakistan lurched even closer to authoritarian rule. Both leaders cynically offered the war on terror as the excuse for a retreat from democracy that they had long contemplated. They feel confident, with good reason, that so long as they align themselves with the Bush administration's anti-terror stance, they have a free hand.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used the terrorist outrage at the Beslan school to justify a plan to end democratic elections of regional governors and to change election rules to ensure a rubber-stamp parliament. After days of pointed silence, Bush finally uttered a few mild words about being "concerned" about decisions "that could undermine democracy in Russia."

Meanwhile, Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, made it clear he was going to renege on a pledge to step down as the army chief of staff by the end of the year. The decision to take off his uniform was widely seen as crucial to Musharraf's broader commitment, made not only to Pakistanis but also to the United States and other allies, to restore democratic rule.

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ABOUT THE WRITER

Daniel Sneider is foreign affairs columnist for the San Jose Mercury News. Readers may write to him at: San Jose Mercury News, 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95190-0001, or e-mail him at [e-mail].

[ixion]

1. not to mention many members of our coalition of the billing

Uzbekistan, etc.

But again, the greater hypocrisy here is lost on the average 'news' viewer.