You Can't Elect a Democracy

Interesting piece by Fred Kaplan in Slate on what Friday's elections mean for democracy in Iraq. True democracy takes times to develop; certain conditions must be present: an educated, literate populace; a healthy economy; democratic institutions. The conditions for democracy must be there first. By focusing on elections before those conditions have developed, the Bush administration has put the cart before the horse -- or perhaps more aptly, tried to plant the crops without getting the soil ready.