AP Photo

In the summer 2006, when then-President George W. Bush came to St. Petersburg for a summit of the "Big Eight," an interesting dialogue took place between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a news conference. Bush drew attention to the challenges posed by democratic freedoms, especially freedom of the press, in Russia — and then noted that things had gotten much better in Iraq. Putin immediately responded, "Well, we really would not want the kind of democracy they have in Iraq." The room filled with applause, and not everyone heard Bush's response: "Just wait, it’s coming." What Bush had in mind was increased stability in Iraq, but it sounded more ominous: you’ll see, democracy will be brought to you as well...