Natasha Mozgovaya at the Jewish Haaretz poses an interesting question:

What if the U.S. had invested in promoting religious tolerance as much as it did in military aid?

It seems the US is not developing the best reputation for the promotion of religious freedom (or, apparently, religious tolerance, which would certainly follow).  Her article contains a pretty big “might,” though: 

If the U.S. over the past 30 years had invested the same amount of funds to promote religious tolerance in the Middle East as it did for military assistance, “Innocence of Muslims” might have evoked no more violence than Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” (although it would certainly have fewer fans).

The philosophy behind the question is valid, even if the framing is a false dichotomy.  The scandal over this recent video is only the most recent incident in which the US passed up an opportunity to make a clear defense of religious liberty.  The general response has been “we respect Islam, we don’t agree with its offense…”

Rarely, if at all, has US leadership emphasized the human liberty that allows people to believe differently than others — even if those beliefs are offensive.  In this incident, for example, the emphasis has been on “free speech.”  While that is certainly valid, such a framing ignores the underlying religious liberty.