"a sector whose internal and external politics are toxic to Western democracies"

Indeed. I think few in America realize how deep in history the roots of democracy go, how much cultural soil had to be prepared for it. In the Middle East, it has never really worked ... even Turkey (as I understand it - it's not my best known area)needing lots of militarism to keep from being theocratic/Islamist ... except for Israel -- which has a tremendous Western history.