Are Bush & Co. Seeking Democracy Alternatives in Iraq?

ThinkProgress drew our attention to this nugget buried at the end of a N.Y. Times article yesterday: Bush administration officials are “beginning to plan for the possibility that Iraq’s democratically elected government might not survive.”

Reporters bury this kind of news only if it’s not very well sourced. So we’re staying conservative on this one.

ThinkProgress:

“In light of the recent violence in the Middle East,” President Bush said recently, “some are questioning whether democracy can take root in the region. I believe that the Iraqi people are showing us their answer.”

But privately, White House officials are wondering if the “free and democratic Iraq” Bush envisions is still possible amid continued sectarian violence. The New York Times reports today that officials are now “considering alternatives other than democracy” for Iraq:

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