Malaysia on My Mind

From William Safire's nytimes editorial today:
"Next, has America's huge military engagement in the Middle East helped produce progress toward democracy in Muslim countries where monarchs and dictators now rule?
Signs are that the answer is yes. At a conference last week in Dubai, Gulf states spoke openly of economic reform and a campaign against corruption, which must have worried oppressive theocrats in Iran. Egypt, Jordan and Morocco are beginning to see glimmers of liberty's light, which embarrasses reactionary Saudis and terrorist Syrians. The groundswell is felt in Asia, where populous Indonesia and Malaysia are showing how Islamic nations can prosper by combating medieval fundamentalism."
He also claims that Ukraine is an example of a place where democratically minded people have been inspired by Iraqi liberation.

A while back, Yiwey Looi noted that Malaysia is technically third world. To that I can only add that her somewhat despised neighbor Indonesia was the founding nation of the third world (Bandung Conference, organized by Indonesian politician Sukarno) and the unaligned movement during the cold war.

I've been told that England is better for grad school, anyway.

Michael