The question shouldn't be what we ought to do, but what we can do.

The question shouldn't be what we ought to do, but what we can do.

I have never met a villager who does not want a vote.

This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable.

The world isnt one way or another. Things can be changed very, very rapidly by someone with sufficient confidence, sufficient knowledge and sufficient authority.

Change can only come from local citizens and politicians - it cannot be imposed by well-meaning foreigners - not least because a society like Afghanistan or Iraq is suspicious of outsiders and often resistant to change. I am not going to get drawn into the ethics of intervening in other countries. My concern is the practical question. Can you actually achieve change in this way? My guess is we can stop wars sometimes as in the Balkans and topple regimes - but that the other stuff - such as corruption is not within our power to effect and alter.

Despite the dubious statistics … democracy is a thing of value for which we should be fighting.