al Qaeda's still around

I think it's ironic (in the true sense of the word) that Shrubites scream of al Qaeda's demise yet they are increasingly present in Iraq. So sure, they aren't as prevalent in Afghanistan, because our War on Terrorism has made sure of that, but (duh) they've just moved to a new home. Yet America still denies they have a stronghold anywhere, taking on the lie of winning the war on terror as truth.

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A call to arms: my dad thinks the women of Iraq and Afghanistan have been liberated.

We were sitting around the table watching Postcards from Buster on PBS (yes, the very program that wasn't allowed to show the segment with the same-sex couple in Vermont) and, this time, Buster was talking with a muslim girl who wore a hijab. I told my niece that, in Islam, women wear the hijab in Pakistan, America and a few other muslim countries, the abaya in Saudi Arabia and the burqa in Iraq and Afghanistan. My intent was to inform my niece that yes, most Islamic countries allow the women to choose whether to veil or not, but in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan, they have to - just in different ways.

My dad told me that they have to veil because of their religion.

I said no, they have to because of the laws in their countries which often state that a woman cannot leave her house without wearing the veil.

My dad said the War on Terrorism changed that for both Iraq and Afghanistan.

I said no, it's only gotten worse. That just because the Taliban was overthrown, doesn't mean a brand new regime has taken over, which it has.

Needless to say, he doesn't believe me. In fact, he told me to go online and look for myself.

I almost choked on my spaghettio's.

I told him to check out my blog as there are several links to RAWA, Iraqi women's websites, etc.
So what I want my lovely behind the scene's readers and frequent commenters alike to do is: link away!! Help me prove my dad wrong, yet again, because I read more alternative stuff than he does.