Reply #34: Iran went from one dictator to another... [View All]

there was no state of democracy in between.

The Islamist revolution in Iran was labeled as a populist movement agaisnt a brutal dictator - and it was somewhat, though like the one in Russia, the result was simply another brutal dictator. If the existence of a democracy in an Arab state could gather such populist support, the Islamists would not be able to take power. If the democracy was the result of popular will against a dictator (as might have happened under saddam, had a number of things gone differently) it would certainly have such populist appeal. The encouragement of such actions in the Middle East is a useful US policy goal, as long as US oil interests in the region decrease.