So, why aren't we now celebrating 60 years of infidel-style liberty in Saudi Arabia or Iraq?

This must be an enduring puzzle to Bush, for just as he seems blind to the singular qualities of Judaism that root Israel within the Western tradition, he seems blind to the equally singular (but not overlapping) qualities of Islam that leave it outside. Distinguishing between the two traditions is the height of political incorrectness, let alone shattering to the multicultural vision of the Middle East that the Bush administration has made the basis of its democratization policy. All we need, the president will say just as he told Politico this week, is "the advance of freedom throughout the Middle East ... it's the best way to keep us secure."

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, that "advance of freedom" has mainly empowered Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood -- not my idea of "secure." Of course, not my idea of "freedom," either. But we're supposed to forget the fact that Western-style freedom is actually antithetical to Islamic law. In fact, we're supposed to forget about Islamic law. Given the administration's new lexicon that quashes most official references to Islam, we're supposed to forget about Islam, too.

The president sure has. What happened here is possible everywhere. What happened everywhere is possible here. What's the difference when seeing what you want to see is believing?