https://pjmedia.com/spengler/2011/12/23/civil-war-as-the-second-best-option/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 02:12:42 -0400<![CDATA[The best is the enemy of the good, Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. liked to say. The best option for the Muslim states of the Middle East and Western and Central Asia is liberal democracy. That, I have argued for years, is unattainable. For years, the second-best option was a dictatorship friendly to American interests. That option collapsed with the Tunisia uprising a year ago, when it became clear that the dictatorships could not even reward subservience with nutritional security (as I wrote last Feb. 2 under the title, &#8220;Food and Failed Arab States&#8220;). Sixty years of Nasserite dictatorship left Egypt with 45% illiteracy, unemployed and unemployable youth, and 50% dependency on food imports.]]>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:50:18 -0500<![CDATA[David P. Goldman]]>https://pjmedia.com/david-p-goldman/2011/12/23/civil-war-as-the-second-best-option-n130670