I would agree with that, but add a qualifier—stable democracies seldom attack each other. There have unfortunately been many examples of young democracies degenerating into tyranny, such as the Weimer Republic in Germany, or the Provisional Government in Russia before the Communist revolution.

While I agree that the election in Iraq was an accomplishment (I’ll admit—one that I didn’t believe was going to happen), at the same time, we’re not out of the woods yet.  A lot depends on whether or not the country can be stabilized.  If some kind of stability cannot be achieved, Iraq, like other failed democracies, could slide back into despotism.

ABC’s This Week this morning had an interview with Ahmad Chalabi who claimed to have the majority of votes to become the next Prime Minister.  This is not good news as he is a corrupt and untrustworthy partner for establishing democracy in Iraq.

I’ve never done the math, but it does seem there have been historically more failed democracies than successful ones.  It’s not an automatic or easy form of government.

Although, it can just as easily said that there have been historically more failed goverments than successful ones of every form.

If democracy fails in Iraq, I will be heartbroken.  However, I would rather have a shot at a stable democracy and chance the unknown ahead than leave things the way they were.