The brazen lack of respect the plan has for the people of Iraq is actually stunning. One would think that as an invading force, one would want to stabilize the place - that might lessen the desperation of the people a tad, helping the terrorists. Equally stunning is that most people have no idea this whole thing went on, but that's completely off topic.
I'm not sure that Russia can be held out as a beacon quite yet. With Putin stumping and the government control still deep in the media and in the boardroom (just ask that dude who ran Yukos) and the quagmire in the Causcas, I would hesitiate to call it a success.
Countries in the new EU are being integrated the proper way, IMHO. Estonia gets to keep it's cultural values intact and still get an economic boost with membership, and Poland and other "have not" member nations have shown signs of uptick in their economy as production has shifted East. All of this was done in a way that illustrates the diviseness between the old and "new" world today.
China's reforms might be another way in which a state run economy can be transformed into a private one. Seems to be a lot of models out there but the neocons had their utopia already set in order, and they wouldn't be deterred from moving ahead down the wrong path. Funny that Bush's resolve is the same thing, and could just get him reelected....
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