Spend the Money. Give Her A Home.

Would it have been too much for our government to put up a few thousand dollars to make sure that an important voice speaking out against tyranny and oppression and for the rights of women all around the world wasn’t killed by the Islamists who have threatened to kill her for years?

Apparently so.

Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali returned to the Netherlands, Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad reported on Monday…

The former legislator for the Liberal VVD party was allegedly forced to leave the US as American authorities had refused to finance the expenses of her personal security measures.

Oh, that’s not good at all.

President Bush, it’s time to take a few heads. I don’t expect the Democrats to be out in front on this. They’re far too busy trying to win elections to care about oppressed people more than it takes to put on a long face and pout for a campaign commercial. The President, however, has been pretty darned stubborn about calling people out on their reprehensible records. He is, to my knowledge, the only world leader who has come out strongly against the ongoing and bloody oppression of the Burmese and he did it at the UN, which is not the most friendly place to take on dictators.

We have a Federal budget that runs into the trillions of dollars. Congressmen can manage to send hundreds of millions of dollars each to their home districts for such critical stuff as shrimp farming and craft museums and local neighborhood recreational centers. Surely the President can manage to carve out a stinking million dollars to make sure she doesn’t end up with a couple Muslim knives in her chest. The value we’d get back as the host to one of the foremost fighters for the rights of women everywhere would be well worth such a piddling investment.

President Bush needs to step in right now, invite her back personally, and make sure the money to keep her safe and alive is there so long as she lives in our free nation.