[.BatteryPoison.]

Sternn,
that's the beauty of democracy. If they don't want our ways, they have a say in that by voting for change. What's some of us thought was even more provocative was that women now had a real voice in things as well there. It may not be the customs they're used to, but that's why it's nice to see that they have the opportunity to opt for change.

Also, it's unfair to say the Muslim religion doesn't approve of our ways. If this were true, then why are there millions of Muslims happily resided in the U.S.? You seem to like the idea that muslim people should stick with their customs and old ways, yet you disapprove of the warlords sticking around, which have been a major part of the Afghan culture for a long time now.

Saying we put the Taliban in power isn't very accurate, as we financed their fight. We didn't fight and win it for them so that they could just walk in. They wrestled it out of the old regime's hands violently themselves with U.S. money. They over-ran Kabul themselves and strung up the old President from a light-post themselves. It was their blood and their struggle. By just financing them, it's probably more fair to say we aided their taking power rather than saying we put them in power.

Not harboring terrorists? They actually sent in Taliban fighters to provide security to Bin Laden on several occasions when he visited with foreign reporters often times to claim responsiblity or speak out about his cause.

As for visiting some of these hotbeds, had it not been for the fact I would have had to lie to federal officals, I most likely would be. I was signed up for Psy-Ops some time ago, which would have had me in Iraq running a major propaganda campaign through their media. You say go to Iraq to learn the truth about these places, but if you were to turn on the TV in Iraq, listen to the radio, or talk with people, you'd be listening to nothing but either U.S. propaganda or islamic extremist propaganda. Yeah, you may see a car bomb go off here and there, but sight-seeing isn't a popular thing in Iraq right about now. If anything, by being in the center of it all you'd most likely be even further from the truth.

U.S. media also doesn't candy-coat much of anything from Iraq or Afghanistan. If you've learned anything about U.S. culture, it's that the media plays off of fear-tatics to gain viewership. 80% of everything reported on about those countries is bad publicity. Every day the main headline for Iraq generally has "Car Bomb" or "Americans/GIs Killed" in it. So yeah, no one here has really been misled by the media a whole lot about the on-going carnage and violence going on in these countries. That's why it's nice to finally see headlines on the democratic elections in Afghanistan where most of everything was on an up-lifting note. We know there's bad shit going on in the world. We can't turn on the TV, open up the news paper, or read online news coverage day by day without being reminded constantly. So some would perfer to talk about and praise the good once in a while because it's a nice change.

Doesn't mean we've forgotten about Afghanistan's problems.