[Mb-civic] The Birth Pangs of Arab Democracy

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The Birth Pangs of Arab Democracy 
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By Joshua Muravchik
Joshua Muravchik is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

January 9 2005

For the Arab world, 2005 may be remembered as the year of the election. Today, Palestinians will choose a new president. Three weeks later, Iraqis will elect a national assembly. This will be only the beginning. Palestinians will go to the polls no fewer than three more times before the year is out, to elect municipal councils, a new legislative body and new leadership within Fatah, the dominant political party. The Iraqi assembly, in addition to forming a government, will write a constitution that will be put to a national referendum in the fall, followed by new elections. 

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-muravchik9jan09,1,1258228.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions 

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