If the Following Passage Contains an Argument, Write a Well-Crafted

Essay

If the following passage contains an argument, write a well-crafted version of it; if the passage is not an argument, classify it as a report, illustration, explanation, or single conditional statement.
There is a tragic irony in the fact that American troops are not only putting their lives on the line but are also taking additional and unnecessary risks to defend some of the most undemocratic and intolerant regimes in the world. (Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem, cited in World Press Review, Feb. 1991)