Shock waves from the victory of Hamas in last month's Palestinian elections are not only reverberating within the Bush administration. The president's conservative supporters are also voicing doubts over the wisdom of pressing ahead with a crash course in democracy for the Middle East.

Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, is receiving reviews of where her officials went wrong with assessments and analysis of the pre-election picture, according to David Welch, the department's top envoy for the region.