This quote by Georgetown’s Paul Pillar — a leading member of the Afghanistan Study Group — ran as the “quote of the day” in Monday’s New York Times.
QUOTATION OF THE DAY
“Democracy is bad news for terrorists. The more peaceful channels people have to express grievances and pursue their goals, the less likely they are to turn to violence.”
PAUL R. PILLAR, professor at Georgetown University and a former C.I.A. analyst.
I think that this holds true, or did for a while, in the Palestinian case as well. The problem is that it’s not clear that the US and Israel allowed Palestine’s democratic impulse to evolve in constructive directions.
— Steve Clemons
12 comments on “Paul Pillar’s Realism on Middle East Democracy”