Those of us who have read Bernard Lewis and who hasn't, as well as some of the other non-Edward Said things, know that Muslims HAVE had a sort of popular government in the past and that deliberations by leaders who listen to others is not totally foreign to Muslims. It was called "The Millet System" and it worked for a hell of a long time. What is NOT familiar or even in their consciousness is parliamentary or republican democracy. If you have read about the Caliphate circa Ottoman Empire, you know that there was plenty of room. Also we must understand that outside of Japan and India (especially India), there are no "democracies" outside of the Western European world. I just hope these suits in D.C. will accept something other than Western Style Democracy which evolved from the "Parliaments" set up by the princes and nobles to "advise" or "consult" with the King and broadened to include knights in around 1264; and they actually started voting on things. They evolved into a near democracy in Britain by 1750; in other words the process took 500 years to catch on. We have to look at the Iraqi past and what they can come up with. This situation is much worse than FOX would have us believe. AND BE SURE TO READ DAVID PRYCE JONES this AM in the Journal.