On any given day, one isn't likely to find common cause with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He's a dangerous, lying, Holocaust-denying, Jew-hating cutthroat thug -- not to put too fine a point on it.

Ahmadinejad characterized the release of 15 British sailors and marines, including one woman, seized at sea last month as a gift to Britain. In reality, the hostages were the West's gift to Ahmadinejad.

When a pretender to sanity like Ahmadinejad gets to lecture the West about how it treats its women, we've effectively handed him a free pass to the end zone and made the world his cheerleaders.

Not only does the Iranian president get to look magnanimous in releasing the hostages, but he gets to look wise. And we in the West get to look humiliated, foolish and weak.

Just because we may not ``feel'' humiliated, doesn't mean we're not. In the eyes of Iran and other Muslim nations, we're wimps. While the West puts mothers in boats with rough men, Islamic men ``rescue'' women and drape them in floral hijabs.

We can debate whether they're right until all our boys wear aprons, but it won't change the way we're perceived. The propaganda value Iran gained from its lone female hostage, the mother of a 3-year-old, was incalculable.

It is not fashionable these days to suggest that women don't belong in or near combat -- or that children need their mothers. Yes, they need their fathers, too, but children in their tender years are dependent on their mothers in unique ways.

There's not enough space here to go into all the ways that this is true, but children (and good parents) know the difference even if some adults are too dim, brainwashed or ideologically driven to see what's obvious.

Why the West has seen it necessary to diminish motherhood so that women can pretend to be men remains a mystery to sane adults. It should be unnecessary to say that the military is not a proper vehicle for social experimentation, but a machine dedicated to fighting and, if necessary, killing.

Women may be able to push buttons as well as men, but the door-to-door combat in Fallujah proved the irrelevance of that argument. Meanwhile, no one can look at photos of the 15 British marines and sailors and argue convincingly that the British Navy is stronger for the presence of Leading Seaman Faye Turney -- no matter how lovely and brave she may be.

But let's assume for the sake of argument that women, despite all evidence to the contrary, are as capable as men in any battle. If our goal is to prevail, then shouldn't we also consider other ramifications of putting women in combat and/or in positions of risk?

Those ramifications include women's unequal vulnerability to rape and injury, as well as cultural attitudes toward women that may enhance their exposure to punishment or, alternatively, to make them useful to our enemies.

Iran wasted no time dressing up Turney in Islamic garb and parading her before television cameras. More than her fellow male captives, Turney was required to confess repeatedly, to apologize for trespassing in Iranian waters and write letters of contrition.

Rape, though not a likely risk in this case, is a consistent argument against putting women in or near combat. While advocates for women in combat argue that men are also raped, there is an important difference. Women are raped by men, which, given the inherent power differential between the sexes, raises women's rape to another level of terror.

What kind of man, one shudders to wonder, is willing to allow his country's women to be raped and tortured by other men of enemy nations? None that I know, but our military is gradually weaning men of their intuitive inclination to protect women -- which, by extrapolation, means ignoring the screams of women being assaulted.

At the point when our men can stand by unfazed while American servicewomen are raped and tortured, then we will have no cause to fight any war. We will have already lost.

EMAIL IT PRINT IT TALK ABOUT IT Font Size: A A A Today's Opinion Today's Opinion David Limbaugh Gen. Pelosi's gift to our enemies Burt Prelutsky More Observations than you can Shake a Stick at Dick Morris and Eileen McGann The Money Game: First Quarter Charles Krauthammer Where was the EU in the capture of the British sailors? Phil Harris America Victorious in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq Oliver North The Price of Appeasement John Hawkins Liberals Need To Learn That Weakness Invites Attack Townhall Columnists: Adrian Dove Adrian Dove Adrian Dove Alan Reynolds Alan Sears Allison Kasic Andrew Tallman Ann Coulter Anne Yasmine Rassam Armstrong Williams Ashley Herzog Austin Bay Ben Shapiro Bill Lauderback Bill Murchison Bill Sali Brandon Lerch Brent Bozell III Brian Fitzpatrick Bruce Bartlett Burt Prelutsky Cal Thomas Cam Edwards Carl Horowitz Carol Platt Liebau Caroline B. Glick Carrie Lukas Charles Krauthammer Charles W. Dent Chip Pickering Chris Stovall Chuck Colson Chuck DeFeo Claudia Rosett Cliff May Clinton W. Taylor Colleen Carroll Campbell Craig Shirley Dana Joel Gattuso Dana Joel Gattuso Daniel Simmons and Michael Keegan David Keene David Limbaugh David Strom David Yerushalmi Dean Barnett Debra England Debra J. Saunders Dennis Prager Diana West Dick Morris and Eileen McGann Dinesh D'Souza Don Kroah Donald Lambro Doug Giles Doug Wilson Douglas MacKinnon Dr. Charles Dunn Dr. Elizabeth Kantor Dr. Paul Kengor Ed Feulner Eliot Peace Emmett Tyrrell Floyd Brown Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. Frank Pastore Gary Aldrich Gary McCaleb George Marlin George Will Glen Lavy Gregory Koukl Harry R. Jackson, Jr. Henry Edmondson Herb London Herman Cain Horace Cooper Howard McKeon Hugh Hewitt Isaac Post J.B. Smith Jack Kemp Jacob Sullum James Bowman James J. Kilpatrick Janet M. LaRue Janice Shaw Crouse Jason Mattera Jay Sekulow Jeff Emanuel Jeff Jacoby Jennifer Biddison Jennifer Roback Morse Jerry Bowyer Jerry Newberry Joel C. Rosenberg Joel Mowbray Johannes L. Jacobse John Andrews John Ashcroft John Campbell John Cornyn John Hanlon John K. Hall John Kline John Leo John McCaslin John Noonan John Ostrowski John Shadegg John Stossel John Zmirak Jon Sanders Jonah Goldberg Jonathan Garthwaite Jonathan Medved Jonathon Burns Josue Sierra Karin Agness Kathleen Parker Kathryn Jean Lopez Katie Favazza Ken Blackwell Ken Connor Kevin McCullough La Shawn Barber Larry Elder Larry J. Sabato Lawrence Kudlow Lee S. Wishing, III Linda Chavez Lindsay Boyd Lorie Byrd Lt. Col. Scott Rutter Lyle H. Rossiter, Jr, MD Lynn O'Shaughnessy Maggie Gallagher Marjorie Dannenfelser Mark M. Alexander Mark Mix Marshall Manson Marvin Olasky Mary Grabar Mary Katharine Ham Matt Barber Matt Kibbe Matt Lewis Matt Lewis Matt Margolis & Mark Noonan Matt Towery Megan Basham Melanie Phillips Michael Franc Michael Barone Michael Fumento Michael Johnson Michael McBride Michael Medved Michael Zak Michelle Malkin Mike Bober Mike Bouchard Mike Gallagher Mike S. Adams Mona Charen Nathan Tabor Neal Boortz Nick Loris Nick Nichols Oliver North Patrick Hynes Patrick Hynes Patrick J. Buchanan Patrick K. O’Donnell Patrick Ruffini Paul Weyrich Paul Driessen Paul Greenberg Paul Jacob Peter J. Wallison Peter Wehner Phil Harris Phyllis Schlafly Rabbi Hanoch Teller Rebecca Hagelin Rich Galen Rich Lowry Rich Tucker Richard Mgrdechian Rick Amato Rick Santorum Robert Bluey Robert D. Novak Robert Knight Roger Schlesinger Ross Mackenzie Roy Blunt Ruben Navarrette Jr., Rusty Shackleford Ryan Kruger and Mike Catalano Ryan Zempel Scott Garrett Star Parker Stefania Lapenna Stephen Roberts Steve Chapman Steve Forbes Suzanne Fields Taggart Romney Terence Jeffrey Thomas P. Kilgannon Thomas Sowell Tim Chandler Tim Chapman Tim Walberg Timothy Lee Todd Manzi Tom Borelli Tom DeLay Tony Blankley Tony Snow Val Prieto Victor Davis Hanson W. Thomas Smith, Jr Walter E. Williams Wayne Grudem Wayne Winegarden William F. Buckley William F. Buckley William Perry Pendley William R. Maurer William Rusher Wynton Hall The Talk About This Article The Talk About This Article S-G Acetate 4/6/2007 Kathleen Pappy Michael 4/6/2007 Sorry Sawgunner ... thinkwell 4/6/2007 Islamic domination is cool, huh? Sawgunner 4/6/2007 Do you have something to say?

This is cache, read story here