I like this. It's time we stop looking the other way while our "allies" ignore the rule of law and basic human rights. Democracy should always be a core value of the United States because, ironically, in the long run freedom breeds more security than our past focus on stability.
CAIRO, June 20 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday criticized autocratic U.S. allies and praised democratic reformers throughout the Middle East in a policy speech laying out the principles and goals of the Bush administration's democracy campaign.
Speaking to an invitation-only audience at the American University in Cairo, Rice mixed tough rhetoric with assurances that the United States is not planning to impose democracy. The United States, she said, "has no cause for false pride and we have every reason for humility."
Calling the ideal of democracy "universal," she noted that "for 60 years, my county, the United States, pursued stability at the expense of democracy in this region . . . and we achieved neither. Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people."
Across the Middle East, "the fear of free choices can no longer justify the denial of liberty. It is time to abandon the excuses that are made to avoid the hard work of democracy," Rice declared.
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