‘Democracy’ is more than ever a crucial word in the global
political struggle of George Bush and his increasingly reluctant coalition of the willing. Having failed to provide the evidence for the justification for pre-emptive war against Iraq – weapons of mass destruction about to be used against the west, or connections between Saddam, al-Qaeda and September 11, 2001 – Bush, Blair and Howard are now in full cry about the real reason for the war being the high-minded drive to bring democracy to the Middle East.