U.S.: 45 Despotic Countries to be Eradicated by 2025

On March 3, The Advance Democracy Act of 2005 will be introduced to both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. This bill incorporates a plan to replace tyranny with democracy, falling in line with U.S. president George W. Bush’s declaration to “spread of freedom.”

This bill will put the State Department’s International Affairs vice-minister in charge of administering a plan to spread and increase democracy around the world. The bill will also create a Democracy Movement Performance division within the Department of State. A human rights delegate will be sent to American legations in despotic countries, and the U.S. president will have the right to freeze or seize American assets in those states.

It is said that the Senate and the House of Representatives will discuss the disbursement of thousands of billions of won to foreign civil organizations that fight against tyranny.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), and Reps. Frank Wolf(R-Va.) and Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) led the introduction of the bill. Apart from the participants from both parties, senior researcher Michael Horowitz from the Hudson Research Institute, who drafted the North Korea human rights law last year, also participated.

The administrators of the law have been saying that “this law is not only for North Korea,” but that “North Korea may be a primary target.”

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com