Aljazeera
President Obama, say the 'D-Word'
US appears to shy away from talk about democracy in Middle East, despite historic anti-government rallies in ally Egypt.
"It's incredible, really. The president of the United States can't bring himself to talk about democracy in the Middle East. He can dance around it, use euphemisms, throw out words like "freedom" and "tolerance" and "non-violent" and especially "reform," but he can't say the one word that really matters: democracy.
"How did this happen? After all, in his famous 2009 Cairo speech to the Muslim world, Obama spoke the word loudly and clearly - at least once.
"The fourth issue that I will address is democracy," he declared, before explaining that while the United States won't impose its own system, it was committed to governments that "reflect the will of the people... I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere."
"No matter where it takes hold," the president concluded, "government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who hold power."
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http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/01/201112811331582261.html
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