Written by David Bass   

MEMORANDUM

March 2016

From: The American People

To: The Iraqi People
The Egyptian People
The Palestinian People

Copy: The Italian People

Re: Making Democracy Work


The purpose of this memorandum is to point out certain flaws in your implementation of democracy.

In recent years, we have exported democracy to your respective countries. It should be self-evident that a democratic form of government can be sustainable only when the people elect reasonable leaders. When democratically elected leaders govern from the center, when they consider the greater good of all of the people, when they recognize their own limitations as individuals and accept the checks and balances of a democratic system of government, the whole society benefits. But when you elect bigots, tyrants, egomaniacs or terrorists, the system fails. Isn’t this obvious to you?

In Iraq, our U.S. Treasury has spent over $1.1 trillion on the removal of Saddam Hussein from power and giving you democracy. First you gave yourselves Ibrahim al-Jaafari, then Noori al-Maliki. Al-Maliki imposed censorship and intimidation upon the press, eliminated any semblance of transparency, became cozy with the leadership of Iran, and generally encouraged unrestrained abuse of the Sunnis and Kurds by Shiite insurgents, leading to a Kurdish uprising and Sunni support for ISIS.

In the West Bank and Gaza, we gave you democracy and over $1 billion a year in aid. In return, you elected Hamas terrorists to all positions of power in Gaza. Please do not confuse yourselves by calling Hamas a “dissident” or “resistance” or “insurgent” group. It is a terrorist group whose charter calls for the annihilation of another democratic nation.

In Egypt, following the Arab Spring, you made Muhammed Morsi the first democratically elected head of state in Egypt’s history. Soon after, Morsi issued a temporary constitutional declaration that in effect granted him unlimited powers, including the power to legislate without judicial oversight or review of his acts.

At the end of World War II, we liberated Italy and gave you democracy. And 50 years later, three times you gave yourselves Silvio Berlusconi, a media tycoon and demagogic populist worth $8 billion. Just because someone is rich or successful in business does not make him suitable for leading a democratic government. Berlusconi was a complete embarrassment, with widespread corruption and legal problems related to abuse of power, bribery, defamation, and tax-fraud.

Reliance on celebrity, corrupt leaders, and extremism is not the path to a sustainable democracy.

What is needed is for the voting public to be informed, reasonable and prudent. Just look at our democracy here in the United States. We would nev–

[Author’s drafting note: needs a little rework…]