QOTD: Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes in USA Today

An increasing number of voices are calling for Hamas to be recognized, arguing that the imperatives of governance would tame it, ending its arch-murderous vocation (it has killed about 600 Israelis) and turning it into a responsible citizen.

...The historical record, however, refutes this "pothole theory of democracy". Mussolini made the trains run, Hitler built autobahns, Stalin cleared the snow and Castro reduced infant mortality -- without any of these totalitarians giving up their ideological zeal nor their grandiose ambitions. Likewise, Islamists in Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan have governed without becoming tamed. If proof is needed, note the Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons amid an apocalyptic fervor.