http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=29018
The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush should back up its pro-democracy rhetoric in the Middle East with more action and consistency, according to new bipartisan report that also urges Washington to encourage ”evolutionary,” rather than ”revolutionary” change in Arab lands. The 65-page report by an independent task force sponsored by the influential Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Vin Weber, a former Republican congressman, also urged Washington to support the full political participation of Islamist groups, so long as they renounced violence and were committed to the democratic process. At the same time, however, it said the U.S. should promote constitutional mechanisms, such as an independent judiciary or specially chosen legislative chambres to guard against