Journeys of Jack Tripper

We justified invading Afghanistan because the evil Taliban was a repressive, Islamist regime. Heroes like Pat Tillman, and others, lost their lives to ensure a free democracy would result in the volatile region.

And what did we get?

A government that is repressive and Islamist, to the point of executing non-Muslims.

Whoops! Guess we messed up attempt #1 at nation-building. That's okay, we'll make sure that Iraq's government is free and democratic for all citizens, right? We justified invading Iraq because the evil Saddam Hussein was a repressive dictator...

And what did we get?

A government that is repressive and Islamist, to the point of depriving women of the rights they had under the evil dictator Saddam Hussein.

This is what happens when you take out a secular dictatorship and replace it with a government whose constitution is written according to the anti-woman ideals of Islam. Now, as a good liberal, I'm entirely open-minded about religious freedom... I have no more bias against Islam than I do against Southern Baptistry. Yet it's not a good light to be in for a religion when its principles oppress 50% of a country's citizens more severly than the "evil dictator" who ruled the previous 20 years with the proverbial iron fist.

It's not a good light to be in for us, protectors of the world, supporters of democracy, to be in the business of providing agency to those who would see our own principles of freedom be stomped into a mudhole.

And yet our media isn't covering these glaring dissonances. We hear about war dead -- important, yes, but not really communicative -- and not the fact the VERY REASONS WE ARE THERE ARE FAILING.

I'm sorry. We're there to fight "terra." I keep forgetting.