Yes, G-man, that is frustrating. I used to joke during the invasion that if I was a marine in Iraq, I'd take special pleasure in gunning down some "human shields" (i.e. the liberal schmucks who traveled from the U.S. to Iraq to provide cover for Saddam and his thugs, attempting to prevent U.S. military from firing on them because they -- U.S. civilians-- were present. )

Here's a PBS interview from January 17, 2002, with the then-Prime Minister of Turkey, that gives an insightful overview of Turkey's 80-year democratic history, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WW I.

Turkey is considered the most democratic nation in the Muslim world.

This interview was done immediately after the Afghan invasion and prior to the current Iraq war.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june02/ecevit_1-17.html