How does one pardon someone who did nothing wrong? What a lot of nerve.

There is one winner in the latest hostage crisis: Ahmadinejad.

He stands before the cameras, grinning and acting as though he single-handedly avoided an international crisis. He says he has given all of us a gift with his pardon. This is like a thief returning to the scene of his crime and offering his plundered objects as a gift to the store owner. This is no gift, it is both a slap in England's face and a mockery of international rules of engagement.

We can only hope that as the soldiers make their way back to the free world, the international community will pursue sanctions against Iran for all of their menacing behavior.

Sadly, this situation has probably emboldened Iran. It has also possibly encouraged the idealists to believe that Iran only wants to get along, which will further hamper efforts to change Iran's course.

Be clear: There is a growing threat in Iran. The current Iranian president and the mullahs who control him are like a cancer in the Middle East. Anything done to facilitate his ongoing suppression of freedom will haunt us in the future.

See an interesting piece by Daniel Hannan printed in the Australian for another perspective.