There are established precedents for dealing with such groups, such as the ANC in South Africa and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA in Ireland -- groups with which we've had to come to terms. The United States and Europe need to deal with the democratically elected officials, while also condemning strongly any acts of terrorism by their militias and clearly distinguishing terrorist attacks upon civilians from legitimate resistance. At the same time, the US must condemn Israeli attacks upon civilians like the recent Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and the 2006 assault upon Lebanon.
The Bush legacy in the Muslim world leaves America with a significant credibility gap to overcome. While the spread of democracy has been the stated goal of the United States, majorities in some 35 Muslim nations surveyed by Gallup did not believe that the US was serious about the establishment of democratic systems in the region. For example, only 24 per cent in Egypt and Jordan and only 16 per cent in Turkey agreed that the United States was serious about establishing democratic systems.
America and European governments that advocate self- determination and democracy need to demonstrate by their statements and policies that they respect the right of any and all movements and political parties, religious as well as secular, to participate in the political process. Failure to respond to the subversion of the electoral process in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Musharraf's Pakistan, the attempt "to manage" and determine the process of democratisation in post-Saddam Iraq, and the refusal to recognise the democratically elected Hamas government in Gaza must be avoided if the West, and the US in particular, is to avoid the charge that it operates on a clear double standard.
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5:44 AM
Moderate Islamist here
