Can Iraq Embrace Democracy?
Paul McGeough of the Australian newspaper, The Age wonders thoughtfully whether the US attempt to impose democracy on Iraq will succeed. He writes, ‘ The compound is just across the oozy waters of the Tigris River from downtown Baghdad, a commercial district that, superficially, has much of its old bustle back. Petrol queues are shorter than they were in December. A mobile phone system is staggering into life and some of the telephone exchanges bombed by the Americans during the war are expected to come back into service any time now. But there are still power black-outs every day; there is no guarantee about the quality of the drinking water; raw sewage runs in garbage-strewn streets; and unemployment is estimated at between 35 and 60 per cent. Baghdad also remains a city of fear, patrolled by tanks and guns, with kidnappings and murder rife. Any building that is at all important is surrounded by intimidating blast walls made of heavy concrete – living and working behind them are dipl
