Remember, it was George W. Bush supposedly joked about bombing al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Qatar during the Fallujah siege back in 2004, and its was, of course, his armed forces that attacked the network’s offices in both Kabul (2001) and Baghdad (2003). (I don’t think the Pentagon ever presented persuasive evidence that it had not specifically targeted al-Jazeera, and I suspect that Bush wasn’t joking.)

In any event, read Nir Rosen’s piece on al-Jazeera’s role in the ongoing intifadas rippling through the Middle East. Then consider which has been the greater force for human rights and democracy in the region: George W. Bush and those freedom-loving neo-conservatives who served him, or their nemesis, al-Jazeera.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of neo-conservatives and democracy, don’t miss Peter Beinart’s piece on the subject on The Daily Beast website, entitled “The Right’s Hypocrisy on Freedom.”