Bush Awards Natan Sharansky The Medal Of Freedom

President Bush has awarded Natan Sharansky the highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom:

Natan Sharansky spent nine years in a Soviet gulag for working to advance religious liberties and human rights in the former Soviet Union.

President Bush says Sharansky remains a powerful champion of the principles that all people deserve to live in freedom, and that the advance of liberty is critical to world peace and security. "Today, the Soviet Union is history, but the world still knows the name Sharansky," said the president. "As a free man, he's become a political leader in Israel, winning four elections to the Knesset, and serving more than eight years in the Cabinet. He remains, above all, an eloquent champion for liberty and democracy."

Sharansky authored one of my favorite books (which I am currently in the middle of) The Case For Democracy, which talks about what is now known as the "Bush Doctrine," the spreading of free societies throughout the world to obtain world peace.