Freedom is on the frogmarch.

At least things went well in Afghanistan, right? Not exactly. Puppet president Hamid Karzai felt obligated to denounce the US this week in order to maintain his tenuous position. The country is the world's largest producer of opium. Warlords control swathes of the country. The Taliban has reasserted control in some areas. And the potential for a religious war remains. From the AP:

"KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A ground-breaking Afghan television host whose Western style drew praise from youthful fans and condemnation from Muslim clerics may have been slain with involvement from her own brothers, police have said.

Shaima Rezayee, 24, who tossed aside her burqa for Western dress and became a host on an MTV-style music show, knew her life was in danger, according to a radio interview she gave not long before she was shot in the head at her Kabul home Wednesday.

Her slaying highlights the struggle between urban young people and their conservative elders for the future of Afghanistan and its Islamic values."

I blame the liberal Afghani media. They just went too far in letting her wear Western clothing, and the result has been-- to paraphrase White House spokesmonkey Scott McClellan-- irreparable damage to their reputation and the death of innocent people.

Three and a half years after we invaded and women are being killed for immodesty? Shot in the head for bucking fundamentalist law? In a country we were ostensibly democratizing? It's absolutely insane.