It squanders in particular military resources and assets already in too short supply. And, in the end, the fecklessness of the intervention generally serves to erode whatever positive attitude towards or respect for the United States that might have previously existed among the affected population. Worse yet, as the editor of Newsweek 's on-line edition, Joe Contreras makes clear, these interventions have actually detracted from U.S. foreign policy interests. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. They do not come about by artificially ending the outward manifestations of civil strife or by elections engineered to produce results favorable to the West's preferred politicians.
Real democracies require legal, political and social institutions.
Their absence virtually ensures that there will be no freely elected and durable governments. By pretending otherwise over the past eight years, the Clinton-Gore Administration has bequeathed to the next president a world much more wary of U.S. intentions and much less inclined to view America as a reliable partner in bringing about democratic transformations. It is to be hoped that, as President, Mr. Bush will apply this principle. If he does so, it will likely save American lives, treasure and standing internationally. In many respects, Sunday's presidential vote in Haiti was the polar opposite of the U.S. election that continues to garner headlines around the world.