What should the role of Iraqs Islamists be in shaping the new Iraqi government?
They should have a role, they should be included, but I think we should be pushing very strongly for the idea that the system of government that is put in place is one that has all kinds of rights and protections, for example for women, so that even if they were to come to power, the Islamists would not be able to adopt a reactionary attitude towards women. It would be impossible to modernize Iraq if you were to not put in place some of the basic protections of human rights and separation of powers. Let [the Islamists] come in for sure, but vigorously use all the influence we have to ensure that they are not able to create an Islamic state. I don’t think they would be able to do so anyway — most Iraqis are quite secular. You accepted the idea of spurring democratization in the Middle East as one of the justifications for war with Iraq. In your book, you write, “The Middle East needs one … homegrown success story,” and you say that Iraq is a candidate for this role. Yet you also lay
