The problem is that in order for a country to hold ?free? elections, it
must have a democratic infrastructure, a democratic culture. In the most
important sense, there is no Middle Eastern country that has this, except for
Israel. Even our attempts to establish democracy in Iraq have done little to
combat the influence of Iran or to insure that democracy will survive after
we leave.
When you try to establish a democracy in the Middle East, Islamist
radicals move in and take over. It?s exactly what happened in Gaza. In the
elections of 2005, the terrorist group Hamas was the big winner over
Mahmoud Abbas?s Fatah Party. By 2007, Hamas had drive the Fatah Party
out of Gaza. And when Abbas, still the nominal president of Gaza, called for
elections in January of 2009, Hamas said that anyone who participated in the
election would be ?dealt with by the [Hamas] ministry or by other means.?1
In other words, if you vote you die.
That?s what the term ?free elections? means in the Middle East. It
means that a radical terrorist organization will move in, intimidate the
population, and make sure that its candidates are elected.
It?s exactly what is likely to happen in Egypt, even if an ?orderly?
transition to free elections takes place. First, it?s very likely that even if the
uprising against Mubarak in Egypt began spontaneously, it?s no longer
spontaneous. Ahmadinejad applauded the insurrection loudly when it began,
and there is no doubt that his agents are involved on the street and in the
backrooms where strategies against Mubarak are being plotted.