"Violence and force can never by themselves create genuine beliefs," says Akbar Ganji, an Iranian dissident writer.
The war in Iraq has completely devastated American standing in the Middle East, and has also, more broadly, devastated the case for democracy as leaders look at the Iraqi experiment in horror; it has emboldened the autocratic rulers of the region, and has subject nascent democratic movements to serious setbacks and regressive freedoms. The war has achieved a few unintended things: solidarity in the Arab world against the United States of America, and a thrust of violent extremism that has taken hold in previously moderate segments of Arab society. In our violent wake, have left only a severely distorted view of democracy for the region to frown upon.
"The United States was not too long ago seen by Muslims as a partner and as a model of democracy, even when it was criticized. Today, if we had no borders in the Arab world, thousands of people would be willing to go to Iraq. Nobody thinks you really want democracy in Iraq."
-Aziz Rebbah, head of Morocco's moderate Party for Justice and Development
"In an extraordinary twist, Arab anger was greater at American leadership than at Israel.
When asked what foreign leader they disapprove of most, President Bush scored the highest-more than three times higher than Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon."
-Robin Wright, Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East
