Critics of the George W. Bush administration dismiss the export of democracy as a rationale derived as an afterthought for the invasion of Iraq, and argue that democracy cannot be promoted at gunpoint. Impressive arguments can be made in support of democracy promotion or in opposition to it. It would be perilous to dismiss out of hand democracy's historical and potentially pivotal role in deriving the US foreign policy, and in order to consider democracy's position wisely it is necessary to step back and re-evaluate its definition in fundamental terms.