President Bush’s decision to name Elliott Abrams to direct Middle East issues at the National Security Council is a brilliant stroke. Mr. Abrams is a hero of the Cold War. There are still those who lived in fear of the Communist onslaught in Latin America back in the 1980s who, when they hear the name of Mr. Abrams, stand up straight and remember that he saw the Communists for what they were at a time when all too many Americans were romancing Daniel Ortega. After getting caught up in the Iran-Contra scandal and then pardoned, Mr. Abrams devoted his energy to the question of the future of the Jewish people, writing a fine book on the subject. He also headed a think tank in Washington called the Ethics and Public Policy Center. When President George W. Bush named him to handle the democracy and human rights brief at the NSC there were those on the hard left who sniggered that the job didn’t require congressional confirmation, and they will no doubt snigger again. But in truth, the transition from handling the brief for democracy and human rights to handling the Middle East is a natural one, as Mr. Bush has made clear in some of his policy speeches on the matter. No progress will be made toward peace in the Middle East until democracy and freedom and the rule of law come to the Arab countries. It may take war or revolutions to bring an end to the dictatorships in the Middle East, but so long as they persist, there will be no peace. That was true in Central America, it was true in Eastern Europe, and it is true in the Middle East. And an understanding of that worldwide truth — an understanding we know Mr. Abrams has — is worth more in managing Middle East policy than is a career of studying Arabic or dining with Saudi princes.