Do the Emirates have "freedom of speech"? "The law prohibits, under penalty of imprisonment, criticism of the government, ruling families and friendly governments, as well as other statements that threaten social stability," says State. The government "approves the appointment of editors."

Do the Emirates have "freedom of assembly"? "The Constitution does not provide for freedom of assembly or association," says State.

Do the Emirates have a "free economy"? "The country has a free market economy," says State. But based on State's own report, I don't believe it. Dubai Ports World isn't the Emirates' only state-owned enterprise. In a country where oil and gas is the dominant industry, "each emirate independently owns local oil and gas production." Also, the Emirates must have one of the world's most extensive guest-worker programs: "98 percent of the private sector workforce is foreign."

"The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons," says State. " In practice, trafficking in women and girls used as prostitutes, and very young boys used as camel jockeys, continued to be serious problems."

What about "freedom of women"? "Custom dictates that a husband can bar his wife, minor children and adult unmarried daughters from leaving the country," say State. "All male citizens can pass citizenship to their children at birth, whereas female citizens married to noncitizens cannot pass citizenship to their children."

Then there is what the president calls "freedom of worship" -- which differs from the First Amendment's "free exercise" of religion, I suspect, in that it doesn't include the freedom to choose your religion. It is a "freedom" carefully tailored to fit under the Big Tent pitched at camp meetings of the global crusade for democracy. The Emirates "prohibits Muslims from converting to other religions," says State. "Although non-Muslims in the country are free to practice their religion" -- n.b. freedom of worship -- "they are subject to criminal prosecution, imprisonment and deportation if found proselytizing or distributing religious literature to Muslims."

Sharing the Truth that sets men free is illegal in United Arab Emirates.

Someday, we must hope, that will change. For now, even a U.S. president vocally committed to a global crusade for freedom and democracy is acting on the reality that to defend our country against terrorists we must sometimes make allies with regimes that are neither free nor democratic.