President Bush may have a largely disastrous legacy when he leaves office a few years from now. But there are some bright spots, most notably his swift application of pressure in support of pro-democracy movements in autocratic countries. The latest is the new sanctions on Burma announced today on the heels of the biggest protests Burma's military junta has seen since 1988. Burma is a country ripe for democracy: it has a credible opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a strong and nonviolent civil-religious movement, and peaceful neighbors with functioning democracies (Thailand, Bangladesh, and India).
Growing democracies in Ukraine, Georgia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and weakening autocracies in Libya, Sudan, Palestine, North Korea and now Burma could be the most warming part of an otherwise tepid legacy for the 43rd president.
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