Your post reminds me of a conversation husband and I had regarding President Bush's inaugural address and freedom vs. tyranny. How can we export freedom to other nations or even stand with freedom seekers in other nations when the freedoms we have been granted via the US Constitution are contingent upon the whims of the judiciary? Husband called it "judicial tyranny." We have lots of freedoms, but compare freedom today with freedom fifty years ago. Is democracy what makes us free?
This country has never had any intention of "exporting freedom" to other nations. Just think of our foreign policy as a series of major business decisions . . . when it makes financial sense to "support freedom and democracy," we'll do it. When it makes financial sense to support radical Islamic elements in Europe (see Kosovo, for example), we'll do it.