Hard-ons for "Democracy"...............by Dan Friedman

When someone whispers the word “democracy” into the ears of many neocons, their reaction brings to mind the mandatory yellow flag in Viagra ads:

“Priapism is an erection that continues hours beyond, or is unrelated to, sexual stimulation. Priapism is a medical emergency. So in the rare event of an erection lasting more than 4 hours, seek immediate medical help to avoid long-term injury.”

Judging by the current contretemps raging among conservatives, a lot of these stiffs arrived at the emergency room DOA. Recall, these were the same preppy pushovers who swooned over Israel’s exit from Gaza and pushed for – and got - free elections there. The unintended, though widely predicted, consequences are well known by now. Practically overnight, the Judenrein strip became Hamastan and led Israel into two costly indecisive wars. After that debacle, you’d think these “friends of Israel” would “whoa, down boy!” for a moment and entertain a few healthy second thoughts. But to my knowledge, they never have. In fact, their dean, Charles Krauthammer, still defends his support for disengagement and recently commended Obama for his handling of the “peace process” (a few days before it collapsed).

Now, the perpetually priapic crowd has heard the siren’s song again. They’re flogging the same formula for failure but want to apply it to Egypt, where the stakes couldn’t be higher for the region and the world. And as though to prove their fixations are bipartisan, this time around they have been lured into bed by a leftist Islamophiliac whose entire agenda (sans one item -“democracy”) is repugnant to each and every one of them. These are the symptoms of political nymphomania.

Nevertheless, the cooler heads among us should take a deep breath to remember that thanks to Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel, and America’s largesse, the Egyptian armed forces are among the best-equipped and -trained fighters in the world. And when the ancien régime is history only a yellowing piece of paper will stand between Egypt, a shredder and a state of war with Israel. Those tanks in Tahiri Square look familiar, don’t they?

Finally, to bolster a paper-thin argument and assure us democratic stability is on the way to Cairo, much is made of the military’s Western leanings and the high regard the average Egyptian has for his army. But drill down one layer and you’ll find much of that esteem stems from the belief the Egyptian army won! the Yom Kippur War.

During this historic turning point, we simply can’t afford to fall into old traps or chase rabbits down a hole. Let’s think with our heads, not our nether regions. Neither America nor the Free World can afford blind passion to triumph over experience in the Middle East again.