That Condemned Convert's Another Victim of GOP Incompetence

The right-wingers whipping themselves into a frenzy over Abdul Rahman's death sentence think they have an issue that can distract the country from their government's incompetence. Guess again. The ghastly decision to kill a convert is the direct result of Republican ineptness, and it's likely to happen again - in Iraq.

Blaming non-extremist Muslims for the despotic laws of Afghanistan is like blaming blacks for being on low ground when Katrina struck. Conservatives tried that tack, too, but decent Americans recoiled at their statements. They should recoil now, too.

Islam is going through an internal struggle between fundamentalists and moderates, as anyone even slightly aware of its modern history understands. Yet this Administration blundered into Afghanistan with no more forethought, analysis, or strategic planning than it did in Iraq.

The blatant lies used to justify the Iraq invasion, and the much greater scale of the carnage there, has distracted the country from the Republicans' inept handling of the occupation in Afghanistan. Yet the fact is, they've performed just as poorly there as in Iraq.

We can only say we "won" in Afghanistan if your definition of victory is: secure the capital city militarily and cut deals with warlords and thugs to gain partial control of the rest of the country. That's what we did, and the chickens are coming home to roost.

Since the Administration hadn't studied the history of Afghanistan and had no strategy laid out, they were forced to 'wing it' once they took control of Kabul. What did they do then? They worked out a network of alliances with warlords, loosely supported by extremist (but non-Taliban) mullahs.

Hamid Karzai was appointed and supported by the US, but lacks a real countrywide constituency. He's incapable of acting decisively without US direction and support. (Witness his inaction on the Rahman case until today when, belatedly, he moved to intervene - no doubt at Administration direction.)

The Administration had no plan to address the fundamental issues that experts knew were going to come up in forming a new country. Foremost among these was the establishment of a government that respected modern democratic, secular values - like freedom of religion.

Because they were winging it and allying with some bad actors, the Constitution and laws that were written codified some Sharia laws - laws that moderate Muslims believe were intended for the unified communities of Muhammad's day, and that they say do not belong in a modern multi-faith state.

So the Bush Administration, haplessly flailing for a post-war strategy in an Aghanistan they'd largely failed to secure, made deals with bad guys and supervised the drafting of a highly flawed Constitution - one that actually permits the execution of Muslims that convert to Christianity.

Conservatives are then shocked - shocked! - when a judge actually acts according to the Constitution that their own Republican Administration put in place.

Their anger at Muslims is misplaced. Guess who actually has to live under the horrible laws the Bush Administration has put into place? Muslims - and those who would leave the faith like Abdul Rahman. Guess who has to live under the iron fist of those warlords and other creeps the Administration empowered? Muslims. Guess which women are seeing their rights, briefly glimpsed for a moment, rolled away again? Muslims.

It's as if a foreign power came into America, made Pat Robertson our leader, and then blamed us when he started executing Americans in the public square.

The moderate Muslims of Afghanistan - maybe a better term is "just living their lives Muslims" - have been plunged back into a nightmare by our Republican leadership. The Administration's made as much of a mess in Afghanistan as it has in Iraq.

Whether you supported the invasion of Afghanistan or not, the end result has been the same there as in Iraq: chaos, mismanagement, and the rise of yet another fundamentalist Islamist regime. That regime, as in Iraq, threatens our safety even as it oppresses its own people.

The case of Abdul Rahman will probably be resolved peacefully - but only because it's become an embarrassment to the Bush Administration, and an affront to its core constituency of Christian extremists. Let's hope it's resolved, for Rahman's sake. But meanwhile the same forces are at working in Iraq - a much larger and more strategically vital country. In the future, cases like Rahman's may well take place there.

If you Republicans and religious righties want to shout about the Rahman in the meantime, try shouting this: "Heck of a job, Bushie!"

A Night Light