# Bedouin, you're tribe's ascending, from the egg into the flower (what do we do now?) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737 "2003-03-20T05:00:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/1 "2003-03-20T05:00:01Z")
So you’ve liberated an Arab country from their despotic dictator. And you’re just a white boy from Texas. Whaddya say to these people to introduce them to representative democracy? It’s, to this point, barely known in their culture. The Cold War’s over, so we don’t just leave’em with a dictator of convenience. It won’t be a situation of a deposed deity, as with Japan at the end of WWII. Or, the totally beaten situation of Germany. If things go well, a modified version of the Marshall Plan is probably in order. Nevertheless, how do you introduce modern, liberal (in the traditional sense - _not_ what “liberal” means in modern American politics today) democracy to a traditionally hierachally organized society? The aftermath’s going to be tough. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/2 "2003-03-20T05:04:39Z")
\*\*Alpha information sending, States within the Heaven shower…\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2003, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/3 "2003-03-20T19:50:37Z")
Well Jordan is a highly succesful and peaceful Bedouin Country, so a government modelled on the Jordanian (possibly even to the point of installing a reigning Monarch) would be a possible route to a stable post war Iraq. It would not be a democracy, but democracy cannot exist without the existance of at least two opposing and similarly powered political parties, and I don’t believe Iraq is likely to be able to form such political parties for some time yet. Democracy, with only one relivent party is (arguably) what Iraq had under Saddam Hussain. Cheers, Bippy ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/4 "2003-03-21T03:18:30Z")
Jordan _is_ probably the Arab country closest to joining the rest of the world. Queen Noor and the recently passed King Hussain were instrumental in bringing one Arab country a long way forward during the last half of the last century. And they share borders with Iraq and are not a strong country. And they share borders with Israel, who still needs to learn some manners, if we’re to consider her a 21st century liberal democracy. At one point the PLO thought they might take over in Jordan. Best of luck to the Jordanians, who must deal with us, Iraqis, Israelis and whomever else gets into it. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/5 "2003-03-21T08:44:22Z")
Too bad I’m not Iraqi. I would make a bitchen monarch. Or corrupt puppet dictator, if need be. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bedouin-youre-tribes-ascending-from-the-egg-into-the-flower-what-do-we-do-now/162737/6 "2003-03-21T08:45:58Z")
Screw it, maybe I’ll just stand on the sidewalk with a sign saying “Will gas own people for food.”