British Sailors and Marines Freed

President Ahmadinejad of Iran "pardoned" the British sailors and marines who had been captured in Iraqi waters and they are finally home.

The whole farce--from the capture of the sailors and marines to his magnanimous gesture of releasing them--gave Ahmadinejad a leg up within Iranian politics. It also probably caused such deep sighs of relief at the UN and elsewhere that, in the future, when compared to the maniacal dictators of other countries, Ahmadinejad will likely be given some latitude in any future acts because he was "reasonable" in this one.

Oh, come on-- if Great Britain had done such a thing or the United States, the whole world politic would have been breathing down our necks and denouncing us. But because we have come to expect the worst out of Middle Eastern despots, anything less is cause for international celebration.