Kuwait's Parliament granted full political rights to women on Monday, making way for them to vote and run for office in parliamentary and local elections for the first time in the country's history.

--New York Times

U.S. first lady Laura Bush will travel this week to the Middle East to press for expanding women's rights....

Her visit to Jordan, Israel and Egypt [was] announced on Tuesday by the White House....

--Reuters

Coincidence?

I'd say no, despite the fact that Laura's not heading to the site of the recent victory for women (or semi-victory -- as the Times notes, there won't be any elections in Kuwait that women can vote in until 2007). Or perhaps there'll be a "surprise visit" to Kuwait -- the Bushies love surprise visits to Middle Eastern countries.

Somebody -- Karl? Karen? -- obviously decided it was time to rev up the "W Stands for Women" thing again, possibly as a yin counterpart to the yang nastiness we're about to see in the Senate. I'm guessing somebody put the arm on the Kuwaitis, who (as the Times points out) rejected voting for women just two weeks ago. I just hope it isn't rescinded sometime after Laura leaves the region.