Syria's President Confirms That Arab Countries Can't Handle Democracy       February 6 2007

In an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer Syria's President, Bashar al-Assad makes a very interesting statement that confirms everything this website has said regaurding secular dictators in the middle east. The West, including the U.S., has worked hard to install secular dictatorships in the middle east to keep the extremist

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sat down for an exclusive interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

peoples in those countries under control and to secure necessary oil supplies from that region. But thanks to President Bush's naive and delusional push for democracy in the middle east, the balance of power and stability seems to be crumbling. In 2005 alone there were 5 major Islamic elections in the middle east: Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and the Palestinians. EACH ONE OF THESE ELECTIONS ENDED UP IN A VICTORY FOR AN EXTREMIST, FUNDAMENTALIST, OR TERRORIST ENTITY INTO POWER! These extremists and terrorists are hostile to the United States and a threat to the rest of the world's democracies. This website has argued all along that the U.S. must support these secular dictators to preserve stability in the middle east. And now Syria's President has explained exactly why this is so. Take a look at this exerpt from Assad's interview with Diance Sawyer: (full interview can be found HERE)

Also see: Keep Democracy Out of the Arab World! The Solution to the Iraq War Democracy in Egypt Lebanon Elections Put Hezbollah in Power Hamas Now Represents the Palestinian People

Assad: Yeah, we don't say that we are perfect and whenever I talk about this issue I always say we are still at the very beginning. We still have a long way to go. Actually the democratic development has suffered from the serious setback recently especially after the war on Iraq. It's not only what you want to do. It's not only a matter of laws. You need the development of the society and you need the political atmosphere and you need the security. Sawyer: But you were educated in England and you saw. … Press freedom, political freedom. Why not have complete democracy here? Why not have Western-style democracy in Syria? Assad: Well, I was educated in Syria. I went to London when I was 27 years old. But again, the democracy is a tool to a better life, but it is a part of the political development. And the political development should be part of the society development. It needs time. You cannot develop society suddenly just like this. The democracy in your country and in Europe is a result of long history. It didn't happen suddenly. So you can't talk about abrupt changes in our region. It's a matter of time, and it should go this way, but not according to Western standards — unless we change our customs and habits. So it's going to be democracy, but according to our standards.

Wow! I am liking this guy more and more every day! Assad had the guts to say what i and every middle east scholar has been saying all along: THE ARAB WORLD CANNOT HANDLE DEMOCRACY, at least not at this time. Every Arab/Muslim country NEEDS a secular dictator, like Assad, to keep the large number of extremists under control. Despite popular belief, most arabs and mulims in the middle east either support or sympathize with the jihad against america. we do NOT want these people picking their leaders. While this sounds horrible, especially for a country that founded modern day democracy, we must remember it is necessary to discourage democracy in the middle east to protect the rest of the world's democracies!