quoted from https://www.dni.gov/speeches/20080904_speech.pdfDr. Thomas Fingar
Chairman, U.S. National Intelligence Council
Q & A following keynote address (pdf)
4/9/2008
There is an approach to government – and this will sound strange but the Iranians actively have a better-functioning democracy than Pakistan does. We may not like who they elect. It may be a distorted process by the way in which people are vetted before they can run, but it’s actually pretty free and fair elections once they get to that point, and they have some authority afterwards.