The Myth of Khaki Democracy

Most Muslim countries were governed for decades by autocrats who had either emerged directly from the armed forces, or had strong khaki support.

Most Muslim countries were governed for decades by autocrats who had either emerged directly from the armed forces, or had strong khaki support. That was the case in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and, of course, Pakistan.

A high school kid in Texas wrote me in 2006 and said, You should get as many people as possible to put on blue polo shirts and khaki pants and go into a Best Buy and stand around.

In one of the cases, two women informed United Nations human rights officers that on 2 October, a group of 10 armed men wearing khaki uniforms and riding horses and camels had raped them and four other women outside the Mornei camp for internally displaced persons.