Who Wants "a War of Ideas on Homosexuality in the Muslim World"?

Having seen Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, et al. interrogate the President of Iran about homosexuality in Iran, Maureen Dowd observes: "Given the repressive and confused stance of some of our Middle East allies on women and gays, isn’t it insane to get into a war of ideas on homosexuality in the Muslim world?" ("'Fruitbat' at Bat," New York Times, 26 September 2007). That's an understatement, since the most important assets of the empire in the Middle East are the Gulf states, but still a good point. Besides, who can believe that the empire's media, NGOs, intellectuals, etc. recommending the virtue of same-sex love will help make it more popular than it is among peoples who resent their countries being subjected to or attacked by the very same empire? The best one can hope for, figuratively speaking, is that people will just shoot the messenger without shooting the message.