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Replacing Dictators With Working Democracy

Aired April 10, 2003 - 15:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As humanitarian aid begins to flow into Iraq, coalition leaders have begun to think about Iraq's future. It is the stated goal of the Bush administration to replace Saddam Hussein's regime with a democratic society. The United States has had similar aspiration in the past. CNN's Bruce Morton takes a look at its track record.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iraq, the statues of Saddam are tumbling down. But replacing the dictator with a real working democracy, that's not so easy. Look at Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai rules the capital and promises elections, but...

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: We did some good things; we let little girls go to school. And yet it's clear, I think, that we're not prepared for the long haul in Afghanistan. And the warlords are increasing their power, and the Taliban seems to be sneaking back in.

MORTON: Iran: the Shah was forced into exile in 1953 by Mohammed Mossadeq, who wanted to nationalize Iran's oil. A CIA-led coup put him back in office, but he was no Democrat. Rules supported by a tough secret police until Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni overthrew him in 1979.

Nicaragua: Ronald Reagan's administration backed the contras, rebels against the left-wing Sandinista government. They had elections in 1990 and neither side won. They elected a moderate, Violeta Chamorro. Some violence still, but democracy may be taking hold. The Philippines, maybe.

ROBERT DALLEK, HISTORIAN: We spent 48 years there, and even then we didn't quite manage to carry it off. It wasn't until Reagan in the '80s that you got rid of Marcos. South Korea took 35 years to get anything resembling democracy.

MORTON: In Haiti, the U.S. restored Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1994, but democracy? No way.

HAMILTON: Haiti is not Sweden. You can build democracy in Sweden. We've not been able to build democracy in Haiti, and it's only a few miles away from us.

MORTON: Japan and Germany after World War II, yes. DALLEK: But they're so different from Iraq. You know Japan and Germany had a sense of homogeneous societies. Not the kind of ethnic and religious divides that you find in Iraq.

MORTON: The U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic in 1965, restored President Joaquin Balaguer to power. But few would argue democracy has really taken hold there.

South Vietnam, the U.S. backed a series of leaders. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the first. But none won popular support, and the communists conquered Saigon in 1975. Building democracy isn't easy.

HAMILTON: It's awfully hard in American foreign policy to stay focused on one country, just because there's so many crises that come along. And I often ask myself the question whether my former colleagues in the Congress five years from now, for example, will vote $5, $6 billion for a year for Iraq. I doubt if they would.

MORTON: President Woodrow Wilson said World War I would make the world safe for democracy.

DALLEK: Well, you know here it is, 2003, and this was back in 1917. Wilson was predicting that, and we've come no where near close to it.

MORTON: Changing regimens is painful, but the United States over the years has been good at it. Growing democracy is much harder, and the U.S. has it then (ph) is good at that. Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 10, 2003 - 15:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: As humanitarian aid begins to flow into Iraq, coalition leaders have begun to think about Iraq's future. It is the stated goal of the Bush administration to replace Saddam Hussein's regime with a democratic society. The United States has had similar aspiration in the past. CNN's Bruce Morton takes a look at its track record.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iraq, the statues of Saddam are tumbling down. But replacing the dictator with a real working democracy, that's not so easy. Look at Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai rules the capital and promises elections, but...

LEE HAMILTON, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: We did some good things; we let little girls go to school. And yet it's clear, I think, that we're not prepared for the long haul in Afghanistan. And the warlords are increasing their power, and the Taliban seems to be sneaking back in.

MORTON: Iran: the Shah was forced into exile in 1953 by Mohammed Mossadeq, who wanted to nationalize Iran's oil. A CIA-led coup put him back in office, but he was no Democrat. Rules supported by a tough secret police until Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeni overthrew him in 1979.

Nicaragua: Ronald Reagan's administration backed the contras, rebels against the left-wing Sandinista government. They had elections in 1990 and neither side won. They elected a moderate, Violeta Chamorro. Some violence still, but democracy may be taking hold. The Philippines, maybe.

ROBERT DALLEK, HISTORIAN: We spent 48 years there, and even then we didn't quite manage to carry it off. It wasn't until Reagan in the '80s that you got rid of Marcos. South Korea took 35 years to get anything resembling democracy.

MORTON: In Haiti, the U.S. restored Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in 1994, but democracy? No way.

HAMILTON: Haiti is not Sweden. You can build democracy in Sweden. We've not been able to build democracy in Haiti, and it's only a few miles away from us.

MORTON: Japan and Germany after World War II, yes. DALLEK: But they're so different from Iraq. You know Japan and Germany had a sense of homogeneous societies. Not the kind of ethnic and religious divides that you find in Iraq.

MORTON: The U.S. invaded the Dominican Republic in 1965, restored President Joaquin Balaguer to power. But few would argue democracy has really taken hold there.

South Vietnam, the U.S. backed a series of leaders. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the first. But none won popular support, and the communists conquered Saigon in 1975. Building democracy isn't easy.

HAMILTON: It's awfully hard in American foreign policy to stay focused on one country, just because there's so many crises that come along. And I often ask myself the question whether my former colleagues in the Congress five years from now, for example, will vote $5, $6 billion for a year for Iraq. I doubt if they would.

MORTON: President Woodrow Wilson said World War I would make the world safe for democracy.

DALLEK: Well, you know here it is, 2003, and this was back in 1917. Wilson was predicting that, and we've come no where near close to it.

MORTON: Changing regimens is painful, but the United States over the years has been good at it. Growing democracy is much harder, and the U.S. has it then (ph) is good at that. Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com