Columbia University’s decision to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak at the school is made all the more puzzling by the way the event unfolded on Monday.

It was curious from the beginning that the school would sponsor a lecture by someone with as little credibility as the double-talking Ahmadinejad. The Iranian leader rarely gives a straight answer to any question, and there was no reason to believe he would be either candid or honest with his Columbia audience. His only motive in agreeing to the visit would be to spread propaganda about his own regime and take potshots at American leaders on their own soil.

Although they received criticism from a variety of sources, Columbia officials decided to proceed with Ahmadinejad’s appearance. In response to the critics, Columbia President Lee Bollinger promised to pose tough questions to the Iranian – which he did. But his questions, as well as his introduction, of the leader were laced with insults and name calling.

He introduced Ahmadinejad as “a petty and cruel dictator” and told the Iranian that his questioning of the Holocaust showed him to be “either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.”

Now, Ahmadinejad probably deserves to be called “petty,” “cruel,” “uneducated” and lots of other names, but is that any way to treat a guest at your university? If Ahmadinejad is all of those things, why did Bollinger give him such a bully pulpit at Columbia in the first place?

It would be interesting to know how Bollinger now feels about that decision. Despite his harsh, insulting manner, Bollinger was unable to elicit any meaningful information or insight from Ahmadinejad. The Columbia president didn’t make the smirking Iranian leader look any worse, and he certainly didn’t make himself look any better.

There’s nothing wrong with universities playing host to controversial speakers, but the purpose of such lectures should be to provide some enlightenment or intellectual stimulation to the university community. Ahmadinejad’s appearance at Columbia on Monday failed to accomplish either of those goals while giving the Iranian dictator an opportunity to promote his own twisted view of history and his country to an American audience.

At least in hindsight, it looks like Columbia would have been better off passing up this “opportunity.”