A Fair Exchange

Iranian President Ahmadinejad and some aides have applied for visas to enter the Unied States to attend meetings at the United Nations later this month.

This weekend, Iran reportedly had planned to release one of three American hikers accused of spying and held without trial for almost 14 months, but decided instead to condition her release on first receiving $500,000 bail. Undoubtedly, she wouldn't return to stand trial, so the money would be forfeited to Iran's coffers.

President Obama -- who's felt obliged to weigh in on local issues such as the New York City mosque and the Koran-burning Pastor -- should speak out on this one and tell Ahmadenijad:

"If you want visas to enter the U.S., be sure the woman hiker is on your plane when you arrive."

It's that simple. Maybe if the U.S. stood firm and on principle, we would begin to reverse perceptions abroad of U.S. weakness, a theme which Secretary of State touched on in a speech last week. Why should Ahmadinejad enter the United States and dine in New York's finest restaurants while he continues to imprison three innocent American citizens?