Although bizarre stories like those below do not seem to represent an immediate threat to freedom in the United States of America, they are indicative of the enormous cultural gap that exists between the West and the Middle East. The Obama administration has dedicated itself to “giving peace a chance” by offering an olive branch to Iran, the long-time enemy of all things that are not radical Islam. Although it may still be too early to assess the situation, indications are that the world of radical Islam is unlikely to change its attitude towards the "infidel-saturated" West significantly during the Obama administration.

Piercing the veil of illusion is the first step to progress in terms of understanding global relations. Many Americans continue to cling to the hope that the world embraces basic concepts of human rights, pursuit of happiness, compassion and the rule of law regardless of race, religion or form of government. Good for them. The reality however, is that many cultures are eons away from embracing such concepts and if we desire to relate realistically with the world as a nation must accept how truly different our nation is from the Islamic nations. They certainly understand this and it is about time we began to understand it ourselves. Until we open our eyes and embrace reality instead of illusion, we will continue to view stories such as these as bizarre instead of the norm.

For years, there has been growing discomfort over the loss of American lives and treasure in Afghanistan while the government moves increasingly toward a Taliban-like legal system that rejects most of the rights that we consider fundamental for all humanity. Those concerns have been magnified this week with a new Afghan law that makes it legal for men to rape their wives. Under the law, a woman “is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires.”

President Hamid Karzai signed the legislation that says: “As long as the husband is not traveling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night,” Article 132 of the law says. “Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband.”

The law allows for the raping of wives in a country where women already face tremendous abuse, including widespread incidents of rape. So, we are now sacrificing to preserve a medieval system where women are treated as chattel and subject to discretionary rape.

In another demonstration of how ridiculous this legal system has become, laws are passed only to govern parts of the populace. This law governs the Shiite community, which makes up about 20 percent of this country of 30 million people, but not Afghan Sunnis.

One of the drafters of the legislation, Sayed Hossain Alemi Balkhi, a Shiite lawmaker, insists that women have more rights in Afghanistan than in Britain or the United States. Sure, that is why the National Organization of Woman is relocating to Kabul — it is a female wonderland of rights and recognition. Nevertheless, he insisted that the law makes women safer by ensuring that the husband is obliged to provide for his wife — after raping them that is.

How is Iran reacting to recent American overtures for better relations by the Obama administration?Here is their response:

IRAN CONVICTS AMERICAN JOURNALIST OF SPYING AFTER HER PRESS CREDENTIALS EXPIRED (April 18, 2009)

TEHRAN, Iran – An American journalist jailed in Iran has been convicted of spying and sentenced to eight years in prison just days after she was tried behind closed doors, her lawyer said Saturday, dashing any hopes for her quick release.

The verdict was the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of spying, and it was unclear how the conviction would affect recent overtures by the Obama administration for better relations and engagement with Washington's longtime adversary.

Roxana Saberi, a 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, was arrested in late January and initially accused of working without press credentials. But earlier this month, an Iranian judge leveled a far more serious allegation, charging her with spying for the United States.

She appeared before an Iranian court behind closed doors on Monday in an unusually swift one-day trial. Her lawyer was permitted to attend, but had declined to discuss any details. The Fargo, North Dakota native had been living in Iran for six years and had worked as a freelance reporter for several news organizations including National Public Radio and the British Broadcasting Corp.

"Saberi has been sentenced to eight years in jail. I'll definitely appeal the verdict," lawyer Abdolsamad Khorramshahi told The Associated Press. It was not immediately known when she was convicted.

The United States has called the charges against Saberi baseless and has demanded her release, and the conviction and prison sentence could put strains on efforts to improve ties.

President Barack Obama has said it wants to engage Iran in talks on its nuclear program and other issues — a departure from the tough talk of the Bush administration.

Iran has been mostly lukewarm to the overtures, but Iran's hard-line president gave the clearest signal yet on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic was also willing to start a new relationship with Washington.

In a speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran was preparing new proposals aimed at breaking an impasse with the West over its nuclear program.

But it was uncertain how Washington would react to Saberi's conviction. On Thursday, the State Department said Saberi's jailing was not helpful and that Iran would gain U.S. good will if it "responded in a positive way" to the case.

North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan called on the Iranian government to "show compassion" and release Saberi. "This is a shocking miscarriage of justice," the Democrat said in a statement issued Saturday.

Some conservative Iranian lawmakers played down Saberi's conviction, saying the verdict would not affect any ongoing efforts to build trust between Washington and Iran.

"Although there is a wall of mistrust between Iran and the United States, the judicial verdict won't affect possible future talks between the two countries. The verdict is based on evidence," said lawmaker Hosseini Sobhaninia.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran after its 1979 Islamic revolution and takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Relations deteriorated further under the former President George W. Bush, who labeled Iran as part of the so-called "Axis of Evil" along with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and North Korea.

Iran's judiciary is dominated by hard-liners, which some analysts say are trying to derail efforts to improve U.S.-Iran relations.

Saberi's conviction comes about two months ahead of key presidential elections in June. Ahmadinejad is seeking re-election, but the hard-liner's popularity has waned as Iran's economy struggles with high-inflation and unemployment. The June 12 vote is pitting the hard-liners against reformists — led by a former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi — who support better relations with the U.S.

Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized Iran for arresting journalists and suppressing freedom of speech. The government has arrested several Iranian-Americans in the past few years, citing alleged attempts to overthrow its Islamic government through what it calls a "soft revolution." But they were never put on trial and were eventually released from prison.

Journalist watchdog groups criticized the conviction. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement on Saturday that her trial "lacked transparency."

"We call on the Iranian authorities to release her on bail pending her appeal," Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the group's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said in the statement.

Iran has released few details about the charges against Saberi. Iranian officials initially said she had been arrested for working in the Islamic Republic without press credentials and she had told her father in a phone conversation that she was arrested after buying a bottle of wine.

An Iranian investigative judge involved in the case charged that Saberi was passing classified information to U.S. intelligence services.

Her parents, who traveled to Iran from their home in Fargo in a bid to help win their daughter's release, could not immediately be reached for comment on Saturday.

Her Iranian-born father, Reza Saberi, has said his daughter, who was Miss North Dakota in 1997, had been working on a book about the culture and people of Iran, and hoped to finish it and return to the United States this year.