Supporters of the Bush administration's war in Iraq sometimes like to compare the process of forming a democratic government there to the American revolution, making Iyad Allawi out to be some latter-day George Washington on the Tigris. OK. Let's take that analogy seriously.
Hostilities in the American war of independence ended in 1781, and the Treaty of Paris recognizing American independence wasn't signed until 1783. The initial Articles of Confederation proved inadequate and it wasn't until 1787 that the Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention, and not until 1790 that all thirteen states had ratified it. Are you counting? That's nine years. The process in Iraq started three years ago.
Nine years doesn't sound so long, when you're talking about the eighteenth century, 230 years later. It's a lot longer when you're actually living it going forward.
And that's being generous about the American constitution which—inspiring document as it was—kicked for touch (punted) on the major issue of the time: what to do about slavery. It took another seventy five years and a Civil War to settle that question. And people in the South still rankle over their defeat.
This would be like if the Iraqi people drew up a constitution in the next couple of years which didn't address the question of how to divide oil revenues. It's true that some of the delays in writing and ratifying the American constitution were due to the poorer communications and transport of the day. But let's not exaggerate the impact of horses and pens compared to planes and email. It took days to get from South Carolina to Philadelphia in 1787. It took years before Carolinian and Philadelphian attitudes to the politics of slavery and race could be reconciled. It took nearly two centuries before African Americans came close to achieving full citizenship in the American South.
In other words, the Iraqi people will be doing very well compared to American democracy if they can draw up a constitution that is inclusive of the rights of all groups and widely accepted within a decade. Even two decades would be good progress compared to the progress of democratic formation in other countries.
The implication for American politics—and this is a non-partisan implication—is that policies which assume the process in Iraq will be quick are hoping against most of the evidence of American history.
Posted by robe0419 at April 3, 2006 11:57 AM