From Think Progress
"Four years after Iraq’s Saddam Hussein was deposed by U.S.-led troops, an international panel charged with recommending invitations for an exclusive meeting of the world’s democracies" has ruled that Iraq is "not invited," the same status the country had under Hussein’s rule. Last year, Iraq had observer status at the Community of Democracies meeting.
George W. Bush has been boasting ad nauseum about how democracy has been making progress in Iraq.
Who do you think is right on this one?
Four years after Iraq's Saddam Hussein was deposed by U.S.-led troops, an international panel charged with recommending invitations for an exclusive meeting of the world's democracies has rendered its verdict on Iraq's fledging democracy.
Not good enough.
The Community of Democracies has decided not to invite Iraq this year, not even in observer status.
The Community of Democracies (CD) is an intergovernmental organization of democracies and democratizing countries with a stated commitment to strengthening and deepening democratic norms and practices worldwide. The CD is composed of both a governmental component made up of government representatives, and a non-governmental component comprising civil society organizations who meet as a group at biennial ministerial conferences. In 2004, CD governments also organized themselves into a Democracy Caucus in the United Nations(U.N.).
The CD was inaugurated at its first biennial ministerial conference hosted by the government of Poland in Warsaw on June 25-June 27, 2000. The initiative was spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, along with seven co-conveners, which included the governments of Poland, Chile, the Czech Republic, India, Mali, and the Republic of Korea.
According to the U.S. State Department, "The Community of Democracies initiative aims to forge international consensus among countries committed to the democratic path on ways they can better work together to support and deepen democracy where it exists, and to defend it where threatened." Emphasis added.
At the same time Afghanistan's invitation has been downgraded to observer status only. Other downgraded countries include:
Russia also was knocked off the invitation list. The committee said Russian President Vladimir Putin has consolidated power through "decidedly undemocratic measures."
Two key U.S. allies that the administration {also} has praised for progress on democracy -- Egypt and Jordan -- were also downgraded. Emphasis added.
To be fair. . . ,
Membership in the CD is in theory reserved for governments that have shown a commitment to democratic governance as outlined in the Warsaw Declaration, however the organization has yet to develop a definitive and objective invitation process. The current invitation process has come under criticism as being too lax, undermining the credibility of the organization as an organization with a fully democratic membership.
So it appears that in responding to criticism, the CD has toughened its criteria in making invitations and will now only invite governments that have shown a commitment to democratic governance that tracks the criteria contained in the Warsaw Declaration. No one on the invitation committee "will agree to lower the bar. . . ." anymore as they may have in the past.
What is remarkable about the Warsaw Convention, is that it lists the rights of the people, and sets the standards for making sure that in a democracy, the governance actively secures and protects these rights. It imposes requirments of free elections and transparency. In perhaps the most telling declaration relevant to not inviting Iraq, the convention declares:
We will encourage political leaders to uphold the values of tolerance and compromise that underpin effective democratic systems, and to promote respect for pluralism so as to enable societies to retain their multi-cultural character, and at the same time maintain stability and social cohesion. We reject ethnic and religious hatred, violence and other forms of extremism. We will also promote civil society, including women's organizations, non-governmental organizations, labor and business associations, and independent media in their exercise of their democratic rights. Informed participation by all elements of society, men and women, in a country's economic and political life, including by persons belonging to minority groups, is fundamental to a vibrant and durable democracy.
The bottom line seems to be that despite all of the progress being touted by the Bush administration, the CD has determined that the government of Iraq cannot control extremism nor abate ethnic and religious hatred and violence. This is a very telling conclusion - these are the very same criteria that form the basis for the so-called benchmarks that Iraq is to meet under the current surge doctrine. Further, the downgrading of Putin's Russia and other known repressive authoritarian regimes speaks strongly to the accuracy and integrity of the CD's decisions this year. After all, Bush is now in the position of having to disagree with the committee's decision on Iraq while agreeing with its decision on Russia.
The implications here are enormous for current Bush policy. We now have an organization of over 100 democracies making a finding that Iraq does not have an effective democratic scheme of governance and is not meeting the goals of a democracy. In the face of this, Bush continues to push his surge and claim to be making progress. It is no longer just 70% of Americans who recognize the lack of wisdom inherent in the occupation of Iraq. Now, pretty much the rest of the democratic world are declaring the occupation, and imposition of an unworkable governance system, is not working. Perhaps it is time to listen to Senator Biden a little more carefully and consider his proposal for partition. Maybe, just maybe, a partitioned Iraq will lead to 3 viable democracies instead of just one boiling maelstrom of tribal and ethnic hate.