My brother said that when he was working in Iraq this past year, there was a soiree of some sort celebrating Gay Pride at the State Department. He just shook his head. It was so insensitive to which country this was in and what Iraqi priorities are. They are family people, first and foremost, and totally did not want or need this. It made the gay State Department employees happy (of which there are more than in the general US population), but did nothing to actually represent US interests well in Iraq.
Your taxes at work.
I read about that one: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/02/life-in-the-pink-zone/
Surprised we are winning over there.
Ummm, not so much.
That's the public persona in Middle Eastern countries.
You talk to someone from there who will share with you what is not to be spoken of and you'll be quite surprised.
I had an Iranian who, as a student helped overthrow the Shaw and set up the Ayatollah in Iran. (He fled for his life when he dared complain about all the murders the Ayatollah was committing and the lack of basic human dignity, and has since also escaped the personal prison of Islam)
After escaping Iran through Turkey he's since lived in Australia and the U.S., and says that Middle Eastern countries are in fact the most perverse in the world. They just keep it better hidden than the West does.
Ever hear the Arab term bachabazi? It is a common Muslim practice of sex with pre-pubescent boys.
There's a common saying in the Middle East that a foreigner is unlikely to ever hear: Women are for family, boys are for fun.