BBC Can't Escape Democracy Spreading In Middle East

All while a new index of democratization of the Middle East shows that Israel tops the list (again), Lebanon and the PA controlled territories are right up there. So is Iraq. And that bothers the BBC.

How does the BBC try to explain this? Well, they can't so they instead focus on the negatives:

Though there are few surprises at the bottom of the table, the top five may raise eyebrows.

It contains three of the most volatile parts of the region: Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Iraq.

BBC Middle East analyst Roger Hardy says there is unquestionably a new mood in the region, but progress has been uneven.

Lebanon is free in a very particular sense: it is no longer under military occupation.

Most Palestinians do not enjoy that freedom, and yet they have just had local elections and are preparing for parliamentary ones in January, our correspondent says.

As for Iraq, its high score is a bit surprising, given the level of violence there, our correspondent says.

Iraqis no long live under a dictatorship and now have plenty of publications and political parties to choose from. But their freedom of movement is constrained by the bombings and kidnappings, and that is a big limitation.

Did it ever occur to the BBC or the BBC 'expert' that the reason that Iraq and Lebanon are now at the top of the list is because of that upheaval and elimination of the status quo?

The status quo was repressive totalitarian dictatorships lording over countries with a harsh hand, and Lebanon was a fiefdom for Syria. That has all changed. Iraq no longer has a repressive dictator in charge. The violence isn't a sign that there isn't democracy, but rather that there are still dead-enders and jihadists who are trying to bring back the repression.

As for the comments about the Palestinian people, they are simply not true. Palestinians living in Gaza are fully under Palestinian Authority control. There are no Israelis present in Gaza whatsoever. There are more than a million Palestinians living there. In the West Bank, Palestininians still have civil administrative control over many of their communities, although the Israelis still control security preventing free access to Israel behind the Green Line. Palestinians living in Israel can choose to become Israeli citizens, and some have opted to take that route as well.

What doesn't get enough examination by the BBC expert is the tremendous corruption within the Palestinian 'government,' which is really nothing more than a collection of terrorist groups hoping to exert their power. That is overlooked in favor of a bashing of Israel.

Oh, and the Palestinians are freer this year because of the death of Arafat, who was nothing but an obstacle to peace despite his Nobel Peace Prize. New leadership has been somewhat improved, though their goal of Israel's destruction remains.

UPDATE:
Others analyzing the report: Don Surber, Betsy Newmark, and Gay Patriot