SCOWCROFT CYA

If Scowcroft warned about how Ay Rabs are incapable of democratic, pluralistic government, it was only to provide cover for his team's failure to finish the job in 1991. While there may have been good arguments for not pushing ahead to Baghdad in Round 1, the Iraqis' lack of capicity for enlightened government isn't one of them. I suspect that a few months of the freedoms (including the freedom to speak and to protest) that the Iraqis are already enjoying under Governor-General Pro Tem Garner will be difficult for them to reliquish by electing a Iranian-style theocracy.