Heeding the wisdom of Iraq’s first king
As the world watches Iraq’s seemingly endless cycle of violence with horror, it’s worth recalling that it wasn’t always like this. Iraqis weren’t always held hostage to megalomaniacal tyrants, strongmen or one-party rule. Nor were they led by the mostly venal and incompetent bunch that passes for our current political class. Electoral democracy shorn of […]Ali Allawi writes in the New York Times:
As the world watches Iraq’s seemingly endless cycle of violence with horror, it’s worth recalling that it wasn’t always like this. Iraqis weren’t always held hostage to megalomaniacal tyrants, strongmen or one-party rule. Nor were they led by the mostly venal and incompetent bunch that passes for our current political class.
Electoral democracy shorn of constructive leadership in an environment of degraded institutions and appalling ethical standards is a recipe for unaccountable government, unimaginable levels of corruption and the exacerbation of conflict and divisions.
