The Bush Doctrine

Today Fox News reports revolution in Kyrgyzstan. The people of this former Soviet nation are revolting because they believe their President since 1991, at the end of his legal ability to stay in office, tweaked the recent parliamentary elections in the hopes that the term-limit laws could be changed.

In power since 1991, the 60-year-old [President] Akayev is prohibited from seeking another term, but the opposition has accused him of manipulating the parliamentary vote to gain a compliant legislature that would amend the constitution to allow him to stay in office beyond a presidential election set for October.

Freedom is on the march all over the world:

"It's not the opposition that has seized power, it's the people who have taken power. The people. They have been fighting for so long against corruption, against that [Akayev] family," said Ulan Shambetov, an opposition activist, as he sat in Akayev's office chair surrounded by supporters.

A key opposition figure, Felix Kulov, was freed from jail Thursday. A former Kyrgyz vice president and interior minister, Kulov leads an opposition party and was imprisoned under Akayev.

"It is a revolution made by the people," Kulov said on state television, adding, "Tomorrow will come, and we must decide how to live tomorrow."

Is the Bush doctrine of spreading democracy and freedom a success? The Kyrgyz people are the latest nation in a list that includes Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and others. Some are comparing the Middle East in 2005 to Eastern Europe in 1989. We'll wait and see...