In the U.S., fewer than half of eligible voters do vote, elections are determined by big money, sitting politicians almost always win re-election, and opinion surveys show a frightening willingness to sacrifice fundamental human rights for governmental promises of security. It's not surprising, then, that U.S. foreign policy furthers sham democracies abroad. Michael Slackman observes that in the Middle East elections have "increasingly become a tool used by authoritarian leaders to claim legitimacy. ... Countries like Egypt and Syria, which hold elections, also allow a ruling class to hold a monopoly on power, limit freedom of speech and assembly and deny their citizens due process. ... 'Democracy itself has lost credibility as a way of government,' said a Western diplomat based in Algiers. ... 'I think the Iraqi experiment, and the purple finger, didn't help anything.' ... The purple finger had initially been a symbol of pride in what was hoped to be Iraq's nascent democracy. Millions turned out to cast their ballots in the first post-Saddam-Hussein election, dipping a finger in ink to prevent double voting. Rightly or wrongly, the purple finger has become a symbol of failure."