What did my Dad fight for in North Africa if it wasn't democracy?

The current turmoil in North Africa has brought back to life some familiar words that I heard often as a child but not too often since.

My father had served in the Eighth Army under Montgomery during the North African campaign which ran from 1940 to 1943. The Eighth Army had prevented the Axis from seizing the Suez Canal and then gradually fought back across Libya and into Tunisia. The CWG Commission website has a helpful animation showing the tide of events

When we asked the simple question "What did you do in the war Dad? he told of places with exotic names such as Bengharzi, Tobruk, Tripoli and Tunis. Should we complain about the heat on a hot day he would simply point out that you had to be a soldier in the desert to know what heat was.

Not all his comrades returned. The coast of North Africa has war cemeteries along its length.

What I find difficult is that people in these countries are now demonstrating and fighting for freedom and democracy. As a child I thought the Dad and his mates had already sorted that out.