Clinton Outlines Road Ahead for Arab Democracy

The Associated Press reports:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that the rule of law, political parties and democratic institutions must emerge in the Arab world if it is to emulate Eastern Europe's remarkable transition two decades ago from authoritarianism to truly free societies.

In Lithuania for an international democracy conference, Clinton cited the real risk of Middle East and North African nations slipping back into autocratic old ways. And she lamented the latest accounts of violence in Syria, with security forces and knife-wielding, government-organized thugs reportedly attacking protesters in the city of Aleppo.

"Today there are new democracies fighting for life, there are vicious autocrats clinging to power," Clinton said in a speech at the "Community of Democracies" meeting. "This is an hour of need. And every democracy should stand up and be counted."