Bernard Lewis says that women hold the key to winning the war against the Islamofasciomisogynists.

I have long said elsewhere that getting rid of the veil is a useful barometer of how we are doing. If "they" cannot treat their women with respect as equals what hope do we Westerners have?

No multi-culturalism on this from me.

Also, so long as Saudi oil shieks have multiple wives who are utterly submissive without any real rights, those same shieks will hate us and fear that western culture will depose them from their domestic supremacy.

I wonder if Prince Bandar and George Bush ever discuss their private domestic lives. "George, I just got this new hottie as my XXth wife. You still with Laura?"

Remove the veils!!

This may be the answer to ALL the worlds problems. It certainly seems to have solved all the problems we have here in the U.S. Islamic women can make their countries better by winning life styles like women in the west have. Islamic women should leave their backward ways and get out there into the work force. Drag their husbands kicking and screaming into the 21st century, that's the answer. Let's dissolve the Islamic family so all will be better in these Islamic countries, just like it is here.

With more women in the workforce, companies treat all employees better and watch out for their retirement plans better, those ex-ENRON folks have it made. With more women in the workforce, all jobs are being done better from the intra-corporate competition, customer service here is so good now. With more women in the workforce, children are thinner and in better shape than ever before, better meals being cooked at home I guess. With more women in the workforce, our moral ground in the U.S. is as firm as ever, Paris Hilton and Brokeback are just statistical anomolies. With more women in the workforce, divorce and adultry are almost never heard of anymore.

Now before you call me old fashioned or MCP, let me say my wife works. And has since before we were married. She worked when our kids were small, and still does now that they are grown. We made that decisioin based on our needs when we were younger. We got married VERY young and needed both salaries to exist. Neither of us went to college until we were in our 30's and the kids could watch themselves.

We did, in spite of all this, manage to raise two intelligent, God fearing, hard working sons. Mainly because we didn't allow total freedom in the kids lives. We didn't GIVE them everything they wanted, even when we could. We didn't allow them to run wild, watch 12 hours of TV at a time, they didn't have total access to the internet un-monitored, etc. We taught them that they were not the center of the universe and that they were not always goimg to win.

My wife and I were partners. Still are. We run our home on joint decisions, two heads are better than one. In our home we led by example, we led from home and THAT is what we need to help happen in these Moslim countries. Make life better for all these people at home first. The veil isn't the problem and turning them to our ways isn't either.

Many of the women of Iraq have opted to KEEP the veils. It's a religious decision. I have first hand accounts of this from both my sons who have had boots on the ground there.

These women don't feel afraid anymore and their husbands didn't treat them badly before, Saddam treated them all badly, it was the major stress in their lives. Of course there are wife abusers in every country in every religion. Islam does not teach abuse of spouses. It happens everywhere. This should be publicly corrected. Draw a crowd and let 2 or 3 bigger men beat the snot out of the abusers like the dogs they are. It works, fear is a powerful motivator.

Educating just the women and girls is not the answer. We have to educate ALL the children. ALL the children are the answer. If ALL the children are educated they can mke their own educated choices. Shut down the Whahabist schools. Open REAL schools, for ALL the kids, and even teach religion if their constitution will allow it. Teach them THEIR history first, then world history and their place in it.

Don't teach them about how good we or or women have it. Don't hamper them with our problems, they have enough of their own.

Voluntary veils are fine, except perhaps in school or passing through security at airports and stuff like that.

But women getting acid splashed in their faces for not wearing a veil is not acceptable, cultural differences or not

But Bill that, again, wasn't the act of a normal Islamic male. He is a radical nut!!

Steve, do ANY Saudi women have equal rights?

Remember that female US Air Force captain who filed a protest at being forced to wear a veil off base?

But Bill that, again, wasn't the act of a normal Islamic male. He is a radical nut!!

The question is, did the law punish him for the acid attack, or her for not wearing the veil?

In countries where rape victims are punished for being raped, the "radical nut" argument wouldn't seem to get a whole lot of traction.

One thing that is being overlooked is that women are often co-conspirators in their own subjugation in Islamic societies. Who handles female circumcisions? Older women. Who "prepares" young women for married life? Their mothers.

Just "freeing" the women isn't enough, you have to teach them to *be* free, and to respect their daughters' freedom as well.