... The irony of the Sudan and Afghanistan strikes was not lost on anyone. The USA was

attacking a man, Osama bin Laden, with whom they till recently had shared interests, at least in Afghanistan. And he was under the protection of a force, the Taliban, in whose creation the US had a big hand. Things have got complicated in the post-Cold War period, with the US still groping for a foe. Could it be Islam?

In fact, Washington has often backed the wrong  horse or supported questionable regimes ... in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Does this qualify as hypocrisy ?... From the end of World War II to the collapse of communism, the US waged a relentless battle against communist and left wing governments. American commitment was less to democracy, more to regimes ... as long as they were against communism, it didn't matter what crimes these regimes committed against their own people ...

... On the US' initial support of the Taliban in Afghanistan despite their record of human rights

violations and treatment of women, (the State Department) prefers to keep mum ...

(Source: The Outlook, 28 September, 1998)