Imposing force and then democracy on a previously sovereign nation has it's problems. Factions, elites and other underlying factors contribute to a whole array of problems and hazards. One in four active duty soldiers thinks we should withdraw from Iraq now. Of course their vote doesn't count.
Yours will. The average American probably agrees they got hoodwinked about WMD. Colin Powell at the UN ! He was at least in Vietnam right ? Hillary, she's the smartest Senator ever, right ? Unfortunately my opinion in 2002 was not sought by anybody. I liked Hans Blix. I didn't think the aluminum tubes were real. Scott Ritter seemed reasonable.
The tepid lackeys of power will always hedge and feint their positions. They walk a delicate line. That is why the Korean Conflict is technically on hold. It's why lawyers feel confident about flaying the Constitution and we go to war without declaring it.
When George Will starts to decry the current administration as Wilsonian in its ambition to promote democracy abroad, we know that even the conservatives aren't on board anymore.
What hope does democracy have abroad when we don't even have it here at home. Ballot access, restrictive practices and no choice from the lesser of two evils keeps us out of it. No lawyer wants to waste his/her intellectual energy on ballot issues. They pick their blue or red pony just after the monopoly says they get to exploit via license. Occasionally a noble soul steps up and bats for the people. With as much at risk in the modern world, you would hope that one of the six billion residents of the planet could come up with some way different to do things in the good 'ol USA. Send us your thoughts.