Emerging Pakistan-U.S. relations I guess the comment "The U.S. has tirelessly sought to promote the cause of democracy across the world" in the context of the article needs some clarification.
No where in the article has it been mentioned that the U.S. HAS promoted democracy, It has 'sought to'. The use of quote marks in phases “Make the world safe for democracy” and George W. Bush’s ‘Democracy campaign’ reflect the need to look beyond the evident.
The submission that 'When the U.S. brings democracy to a nation, they are in a position to regulate the flow of sovereign authority to the new regime; when internal changes lead to democratic transformation, the U.S. gains no leverage for regulating the nation’s exercise of sovereignty...' reflects that the article is in no way appreciating the role palyed the U.S.

I guess it is essential to comprehend the subtle style of narration rather than merely skimming through the article.
By the way I have read and understood Noam since long!