In case any of you didn't know why CIA and US military involvement was bad for democracy in a region, just look at recent events in the Philippines, where US special forces have been training local troops and private militias in "counter-insurgency" for the past 7 years. In late November, a Mayor in Maguindanao brutally massacred 57 people over an election campaign before it had even officially started.
Electoral violence in an underdeveloped region may not be news, but the brutal nature of the massacre and who the victims were shows the level of perceived impunity with which local politicians feel entitled to in this region, largely because they know that US special forces are "training" in their area. Knowing that muslim insurgents/terrorists/bandits can always be blamed, warlord politicians don't even need to be physically protected by the green berets and "civilian contractors", because they know that as long as they're delivering votes to the puppet regime in Manila, the wheels of justice will be greased in their favor.
