For some time now I have been posting about what I consider to be one of the most beneficial consequences of Bush's freedom imperative -- a renewed focus on the rights of Islamic women. Today Daniel Henninger writes about the Kuwait women's protests for the WSJ. He draws an even tighter link between Bush's policies and the women's awakening than I have to date.

The correlation between the two Bush military interventions and the political rise of women in Afghanistan and Iraq is direct and obvious. But now women throughout the Islamic world are accelerating similar claims for basic human and political rights. After Mrs. Bush spoke at the State Department, 30 or so women went into a closed-door session to compare ideas and strategies. The women in the room were from the Palestinian Authority, Oman, Indonesia, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and elsewhere.

I am not suggesting that George W. Bush is the father of women's rights in the Middle East. These freedom movements have been building slowly over time led by some remarkably brave women and with the support of many institutions. Egypt had a formal feminist movement in the 1920s. The fact remains that promoting greater freedom for these women was on the official Bush agenda before September 11. [emphasis mine] The liberation of Iraq has injected the broader women's movement with energy and immediacy that did not exist previously. If the women of the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world--numbering in the many millions--secure a place in the political life and public order of their nations, the years 2000 to 2008 will carry historic import equal to the immediate post-Cold War period.

Note that Laura seems to be the point-person on this so far.

I wonder when Dubya will be given the credit he deserves for promoting women's rights?

I wonder if this is the "international relations matter" that has drawn Karen Hughes back to Washington.

Just wondering....