The Middle East ran fresh out of democracy; Rice asks if she can buy them some more.

From The New York Times:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a Senate panel today that she plans to ask for $75 million to promote democracy in Iran, but she met with sharp questioning from Democrats about whether Bush administration policies were promoting the rise of anti-American governments around the world.

Ms. Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the money for Iran, on top of $10 million already provided in the current budget, would be used to “support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people,” and to counter the influence of Tehran’s new hard-line regime.

With innumerable instances of anti-West fury due to recent foreign policy blunders, it could be said that the Bush administration is propelling us into a spiral of worldwide hatred and dismay. I’m not sure how buying democracy works, but I assume it would be through the use of propaganda and military force.

On our side it’s promoting democracy — the administration fails to see that on their side, it’s cultural imperialism.