On the list of things that should be insulated from politics, No. 1 might be the treatment of war heroes.

They don't make the decisions on where to go or when to fight. All they do is carry out orders, sometimes sacrificing their limbs or even their lives in the process.

So, while certain members of Congress may have good intentions when challenging the military's selectiveness for the Medal of Honor, this is one foxhole where they shouldn't venture. Not during these wars, not during peacetime, not ever.

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a Republican from California, can't understand why only six service members - four in Iraq, two in Afghanistan - have been awarded the medal during the ongoing wars. It's a fair question; the military has bungled the awards process before, having to retroactively honor black soldiers who had been overlooked.

Still, any review of the selection process should focus only on whether the existing standards are being applied correctly. The idea that "we need more heroes" is not a sufficient reason to alter those standards. Heroism is something to be honored as it comes, not subjected to an arbitrary quota.

And Congress certainly shouldn't lead the re-evaluation. In fact, the evaluation should begin in the mirror. Some military advocates are already blaming politics for the dearth of medal winners. They claim the Bush administration, for example, was slow to approve awards because officials wanted to vet the heroes to determine if they'd be good for public relations.

Bravery comes in differing degrees, and the military confers scores of other medals. As the highest honor a soldier can receive, the Medal of Honor shouldn't be watered down.

Easing the criteria would only dilute the honor of the more than 3,400 Americans who have been deemed worthy of wearing it. Especially since it has evolved into an honor largely reserved for those who died in combat.

Although it's often called the Congressional Medal of Honor, the formal title has no mention of Congress. That's a good relationship to keep at arm's length. After proving their patriotism in combat, war heroes deserve better than to be stuck in the crossfire at the Capitol.