Spreading Democracy in the Middle East is a Bad Idea

Topics: World

Public Release Date: September 18, 2007

One of the key justifications for the invasion of Iraq was spreading democracy in the Middle East. Proponents of democratization argue that the United States has a moral responsibility to empower those seeking freedom around the world, while others question the legitimacy of a governance structure imposed by outsiders. Is spreading democracy in the Middle East a bad idea?

ARGUING YES:

• Flynt Leverett: Senior Fellow and Director of the Geopolitics of Energy

• Dimitri K. Simes: Founding President of The Nixon Center, Publisher of its foreign policy bi-monthly magazine

• Shibley Telhami: Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, College Park, Non-resident senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution

ARGUING NO:

• Liz Cheney: Attorney and Specialist in the areas of U.S. Middle

• Danielle Pletka: Vice President for Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute

• Natan Sharansky: Chairman of the Adelson Institute for Strategic Studies at The Shalem Center in Jerusalem

MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:

• John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist