Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Democracy Hits a Bump in the Road

Close to 500,000 people/Hezbollah followers jammed the streets of Beirut in support of Syria today. That number dwarfs the 70,000+ people that marched yesterday demanding the complete withdrawal of Syrian troops out of Lebanon. While I was surprised by the high number of people who turned out in support of Syria, I think today's developments reminded me that the road to democracy will not be easy in the Middle East. Pro-Democratic forces can only succeed by winning the hearts and minds of the people.