you know what, there are two sides to every story. and while the US side of the story is, major nation meddles in globabl politics, backs regimes, etc... the other story is that a bunch of religious fanatics kill their own people (for watching TV, for cutting their beards too short), kill Americans (for talking about their own religions), and basically behave like Hitler's SS Troops. so basically, here's my final equation:

america's government & leaders = flawed, but striving for the good.
the taliban = screwed in the head religious fanatics striving for the oppression of free will.

it reminds me of some lyrics in a primus song entitled "my name is mud"... so I kissed him upside the cranium with an aluminum baseball bat.