Where Regimes Like Us, the People Dislike Us

The NYT notes the "paradox of American policy in the Middle East": In

promoting democracy on the assumption it will bring countries closer to the West . . . almost everywhere there are free elections, the American-backed side tends to lose.

Examples:

• The Palestinians elected Hamas over the Bush-backed Palestinian Authority.

• The Iraqis voted for a government sympathetic to Iran.

• The Lebanese elected an opposition candidate over a former president supported by the Bush administration.

• The Egyptians have voted in growing numbers for the Muslim Brotherhood.