Oops in the news

Reading the on-line papers this morning, some interesting stuff about the US idea of bringing democracy to other countries, especially those we invade and occupy, and either are leaving, eventually, or will leave eventually. These are kinda' oops stories about what we had thought we were bringing and what is really happening.

From Baghdad, Iraq:

"Vendors around the Kadhimiya mosque in northern Baghdad sell all manner of women’s clothing, from drape-like black abayas to racy evening wear. But on a recent afternoon, Hameed Ibrahim ushered his family toward a different kind of fashion display. On a raised stage between two shops, four mannequins in Western dress, their blond hair peeking out under colored scarves, stood amid crepe-paper flames. To one side was a banner featuring lust-crazed male ghouls; behind the mannequins, images of eternal suffering. And at the foot of the stage was a scripture from the mosque. “Whoever fills his eyes with the forbidden, on judgment day God will fill them with fire.”"

Parts of Baghdad are imposing Islamic law for dress codes and public behavior, not unlike Iran and parts of Afghanistan.

From Kabul, Afghanistan:

"President Hamid Karzai said Tuesday that he wanted to bring a Taliban official being held at the Guantánamo Bay prison back to Afghanistan to join in reconciliation talks. His remarks seconded a request by the government’s High Peace Council calling for the release of the Taliban figure, Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, who has been held at the prison on the United States military base in Cuba since 2002. Mr. Khairkhwa, from Kandahar, reportedly had been the Taliban interior minister and also the governor of Herat Province during the Taliban government. “If he wants to talk, we welcome him,” Mr. Karzai said in response to a question at a news conference. “We would talk to him, we would arrange his release.”

We arrest, detain or imprison people Karzai wants in his government. Gee, and he's not corrupt or whatever else we were trying to prevent.

From Lahore, Pakistan:

"The case of Raymond A. Davis, a former United States Special Forces soldier who is being held in connection with the deaths of two Pakistanis, has stirred a diplomatic furor, sending the precarious relationship between the United States and Pakistan to a new low, both sides say. Mr. Davis, 36, was driving in dense traffic in this city on Jan. 27 when, he later told the police, two Pakistani men on a motorcycle tried to rob him. He shot and killed both and was arrested immediately afterward by police officers who say he was carrying a Glock handgun, a flashlight that attached to a headband and a pocket telescope.'

We're always outraged at countries arresting US diplomatic people but we're outraged at the offenses committed by the diplomatic people of other countries in the US. And we're loved for our ideals and equal rights.

What can you say except, "Oops."