You don't drop democracy from 14,000 feet?

Tony Blair writes today in The Times the following: "First, there is no doubt that the best, most secure, most stable future for the Middle East lies in the spread of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. These are not “Western” values; they are the universal values of the human spirit. People of the Middle East are no different in that sense from the people of Europe or America."

David Cameron said the other day, about Tony Blair, that "you don't drop democracy from 14,000 feet". Why is it then that they seem to be very intent on doing just that again? Some countries that are said to have acquired democracy like South Korea is probably not very similar to European democraccies either. But Libya is further away than this even. They lack the Confucian tenacity and the attributes of European and American democracy. It took hundreds of years to develop this culture of democracy.

Let us assume for simplicity that authoritarian values are not heriditary then the people in Libya dwell in a basin separated by a ridge to that of Western democracy and freedom. Where then is the nearest pass? Helping out with air and ground attacks was not a success in Iraq nor does it seem to work in Afghanistan. I believe that hitting ground targets in Libya, especially now when Gaddafi already is in Benghazi, will kill civilians and then there is a hundred percent incidence of avert reactions and the whole thing back fires.

I believe the most reasonable solution is to let the Libyans fight it out and eventually find out how they want to live and what culture to emulate if they so wish. There will be the least casualties in this way.