Iran: 3 Americans could be tried for espionage
posted at 10:11 am on August 5, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
How has Barack Obama’s “unclenched fist” policy toward Iran worked thus far? About as well as we predicted. After three hikers got lost traversing Iraqi Kurdistan and wandered across the Iranian border, Tehran has openly suggested that the Islamic Republic will try the three for espionage:
An Iranian lawmaker and member of parliament’s National Security Committee rejected the suggestion the Americans were tourists and said authorities were investigating whether to charge them with espionage.
“Surely we can say that they came as spies,” said Mohammad Karim Abedi, a hard-line lawmaker, speaking on Iran’s state-run Al-Alam TV. “The concerned authorities will decide whether they were spies or not. If it is proven that they were spies, the necessary legal procedures will be sought against them.”
“The U.S. forces are trying to leave some security elements behind, after leaving Iraq,” Abedi added. “It’s unacceptable to penetrate Iran’s borders this way. … We condemn this.”
He sought to compare the matter with a case involving British military personnel seized by Iran in March 2007 after Tehran said they had entered Iranian waters from Iraqi territory. The 15 sailors and marines were held for nearly two weeks, and some were paraded on Iranian television to deliver supposed confessions of trespassing.
The better parallel is with Roxana Saberi. The mullahcracy arrested Saberi earlier this year, claiming that she had committed journalism without permission as well as violated a morals law by buying alcohol. The Iranians kept her until last month, when they traded Saberi for a handful of Quds Force members held for the last two years by the US in Iraq.
This time, the leverage for whatever bargain Iran will demand next literally walked into their hands. The Iranians know the value of Americans when they have them in their custody; the Obama administration all but set the price with the Saberi trade. Kim Jong-Il was happy enough with a visit from Bill Clinton and an apology for the trespasses committed by two journalists, but the Iranian mullahs will hold out for a better bargain.
What will Obama trade to get these three back into US custody?
Blowback
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Gosh, better send Bill Clinton.
Enoxo on August 5, 2009 at 10:12 AM
TALK ABOUT FISHY.
bloggless on August 5, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Weakness invites this.
It’s gonna get worse.
jake-the-goose on August 5, 2009 at 10:13 AM
What WON’T he trade? Oh but to have a real alpha male in the white house.
Monica on August 5, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Send Joe Biden. And Slobama.
In other words, “Send in the Clowns”
Key West Reader on August 5, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Maybe we can arrange a swap.
Shy Guy on August 5, 2009 at 10:15 AM
or alpha female
Monica on August 5, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Just send Bubba, I heard he’s in the hostage rescue business now…
ujorge on August 5, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Gitmo detainees. Ozero’s problem solved.
ICBM on August 5, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Somalia pirates are rubbing their hands in glee and probably preparing a class action lawsuit for losing their brethren to the Navy SEALS. Why were they singled out? Sounds like racism to me.
/
Just A Grunt on August 5, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Any American idiot who hikes along the Iranian border and gets nabbed by the Iranians is not entitled to any expectations of official help towards their release. Morons.
jnelchef on August 5, 2009 at 10:17 AM
The world is playing Barry like a pet dog. Everyone is pretending to toss a ball just to laugh as Spot runs off in every which direction looking for it. They laugh at the stupid dog as he trots back and waits for the next pretend ball to be sent for him to fetch.
Limerick on August 5, 2009 at 10:18 AM
You mean the socialist clowns?
Enoxo on August 5, 2009 at 10:18 AM
This sounds like a job for U.N. G.I. Joe.
LibTired on August 5, 2009 at 10:18 AM
He’ll trade more guilty people for our innocent ones.
Daggett on August 5, 2009 at 10:19 AM
If/when do you think the actual Sec of State will handle one of these issues? At this point, I’m convinced the Campaigner in Chief wants to have a dance for every song and is doing his best to keep Hilary in the shadows. After all, it’s the Chicago way.
Well, let’s see, if rotating network exclusives are any hint…BO skipped W, Clinton handled N. Korea, that means that means that Bush 41 is in line for this trip…but there’s that unpleasantness with Gulf War I…so I guess Carter’s at bat.
NickelAndDime on August 5, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Members of the armed services, diplomats, and other U.S. citizens in areas for good reasons deserve extraordinary effort devoted to their safe return. Three hikers who got lost in an area where they don’t belong? Maybe some private group can underwrite the cost of sending Clinton over for their safe return. Otherwise, they can make a mint writing books and making appearances when they get out.
BuckeyeSam on August 5, 2009 at 10:20 AM
+100 ! Sit uboonga. Sit. Good boy.
Key West Reader on August 5, 2009 at 10:20 AM
No sympathy here.
What kind of dopes go hiking near the Iranian border? Of all the places in the world, why take in the scenery near a country who’s president is frothing at the mouth to make an @ss out of America?
Let them be. Retards.
fogw on August 5, 2009 at 10:20 AM
exactly my thoughts….wants to play nice with them
cmsinaz on August 5, 2009 at 10:20 AM
jnelchef on August 5, 2009 at 10:17 AM
I hate to be cold, but I wouldn’t think it was a good idea to be a tourist in the Middle East.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Unless they’re guys. Then send Barney Frank. And leave him.
Patrick S on August 5, 2009 at 10:21 AM
This kidnapping and hostage situation was reported to the White House Ministry of Health Care Disinformation Refutation…oh, wait…health care will pass, the dems have the votes…uh…umm…
RACISTS! EXTREMISTS! MOBS!
Good Lt on August 5, 2009 at 10:21 AM
“Hey girls welcome aboard my private jet”
Agent 69 is on the loose – they call him Bill “pussy galore” Clinton.
Bill wants to know if that hot Iranian Roxy was released yet?
She was – damn!!!
OK, about the hostages that Iran is holding now – are they tanned, athletic babes?
No?
They are dudes? Forget it man – they are screwed.
izoneguy on August 5, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Bill Clinton is Agent 69…..
izoneguy on August 5, 2009 at 10:22 AM
If only Israel would stop building those settlements… Iran would stop shooting women dead in the street.
TexasJew on August 5, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Anybody else see a trend here?
Durham68 on August 5, 2009 at 10:22 AM
I’m sure The One will go beg Iran’s “elected president” to release them.
Red Cloud on August 5, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Cue the Left claiming you guys think Americans prisoners in foreign countries should die in 3…2…1…
LastRick on August 5, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Send in Lancelot Link..
TexasJew on August 5, 2009 at 10:24 AM
HEY! LOOK OVER HERE! MICHELLE OBAMA’S ARMS! THE PRESIDENT’ BIRTHDAY CAKE!
WEEEEEEeeee!
Good Lt on August 5, 2009 at 10:24 AM
that bloody slippery slope again….
thanks big O
cmsinaz on August 5, 2009 at 10:25 AM
What a wonderful story… maybe one of those russian subs sightseeing off the east coast could run Bill over to Iran on the way back…
/sarc
D2Boston on August 5, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Send a bunch of senior citizens to be traded. Obama wants them to die and get the hell out of his way, anyhow.
whitetop on August 5, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I say trade the two girls from NK for the three jokers in Iraq. Then keep them on “ice” for the next hostage, and trade them.
right2bright on August 5, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I recall Obama once saying that we shouldn’t be “meddling” in the affairs of other countries.
It will be interesting to see how he meddles his way out of this one.
Good Lt on August 5, 2009 at 10:26 AM
I know I can speak for everyone, when I say that these hikers did nothing wrong. That we were all under the assumption that we can travel anywhere in the world because everyone loves us now that we have Dear Leader Obama as prez.
MDWNJ on August 5, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Guess they learned the hard way that while political winds may shift in the US, some things in the world don’t CHANGE so easily. No matter what you want to believe.
Good Lt on August 5, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Wow … these world thugs got Obama’s number and they’re playing him like a fiddle.
darwin on August 5, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I’m all out of sympathy for these 3 retards. They are all young, liberal products of UC Berkley. I kid you not, one has a degree in “Peace & Conflict”. They are supposed to be oh so intelligent according to their friends. I watched a report on these 3 geniuses on CNN. If their parents can afford Berkley, they can afford their ransom. Let the Swiss keep negotiating w/them. We have no diplomatic relations w/Iran. If these idiots didn’t know that, then they don’t deserve to walk around at large. If they did, then they gambled and they lost.
JAM on August 5, 2009 at 10:29 AM
A tourist hiking along the Iran/Iraq border…enough is enough, just tell them to send the heads to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Let’s worry about our country, not a bunch of foolish activists.
The girls were lucky…the these aren’t.
right2bright on August 5, 2009 at 10:29 AM
WOW, who would have seen this coming.
tarpon on August 5, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Bingo!
MDWNJ on August 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Yes, I was thinking of biking through the 10 most scenic al Qaeda strongholds of the world. I hear the scenery is stunning and the hash is top notch!
jnelchef on August 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
I agree with you in theory. But in practice, I do not want foreign countries holding even our most stupid Americans.
myrenovations on August 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
An ipod?
BeantownModerate on August 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
did you get that from Frommers? :-)
cmsinaz on August 5, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Well, no one does, but how do you stop stupid people from walking into forbidden lands.
right2bright on August 5, 2009 at 10:32 AM
That was funny.
MDWNJ on August 5, 2009 at 10:32 AM
I agree with you in theory. But in practice, I do not want foreign countries holding even our most stupid Americans.
myrenovations on August 5, 2009 at 10:30 AM
That’s all great and all, but what about the people that are put in danger to secure the release of theoretically adult people who were there by their own choosing. It is not like these people were on a plane that was hijacked.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 10:32 AM
Waiting to see what the next rogue state will be to take Americans hostage in hopes of winning a free visit from the ex-president and probably concessions from the current one.
My guess is Hugo’s the odds-on favorite, but you never know about those wacky pirates down in Somalia, once they figure out where the sharpshooters are.
jon1979 on August 5, 2009 at 10:32 AM
lol, dang.
NickelAndDime on August 5, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Should have been someone like Sean Penn or Susan Sarandon.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Light up the CLinton bat signal!
Grafted on August 5, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Those Iranians really know how to handle their illegal aliens.
/s
BowHuntingTexas on August 5, 2009 at 10:36 AM
We need to handle these hostages the same way some emergency services now handle stupid hikers….charge them for the cost of bringing them back. It is beyond stupid to pull the tail of a rabid dog.
Limerick on August 5, 2009 at 10:37 AM
We need to handle these hostages the same way some emergency services now handle stupid hikers….charge them for the cost of bringing them back. It is beyond stupid to pull the tail of a rabid dog.
Limerick on August 5, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Agreed.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 10:38 AM
Limerick
Their stupidity might cost them 5 yrs. of hard labor. If nothing else beats that liberal education out of them, that should. I bet these 3 would love to see a platoon of Marines right about now. You know, members of the American War Machine! Idiots.
JAM on August 5, 2009 at 10:41 AM
+++
LibTired on August 5, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Remember those of use predicting Obama’s first term would be Carter’s second term?
We now have an Iranian hostage crisis. Recession. Malaise. Weak leader in the WH. Coming stagflation. Rationing. Bowing before petty tyrants and thugs around the world. Constant apologizing for America.
Welcome back, Carter!
Good Lt on August 5, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Y’all don’t understand. They’re being tried for espionage because they’re Joooos. Or Mossad. Or something like that.
I don’t remember my paranoid rantings anymore.
mjk on August 5, 2009 at 10:44 AM
hahha Good one! I also think it was totally stupid to go hik9ing in Iraq. Didnt they know there is a war going on?
becki51758 on August 5, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Good Lt
And Mother Russia cruising off of our Eastern Seaboard!
JAM on August 5, 2009 at 10:45 AM
LOL. Now I will admit to vacationing in some pretty stupid places considering my, shall we say, background, but you got me beat, darling!
Have fun. And bring me back some hash. I’ll need it until 2012….
mjk on August 5, 2009 at 10:46 AM
I’m sorry but I have no sympathy for these morons. That is not a part of the world where Americans should be wandering around on vacation and, if one is foolish enough to do so, it had better be with a damned good idea of where you are.
highhopes on August 5, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Completely agree!
Iran is still the enemy here, and they shouldn’t get even one of us.
Esthier on August 5, 2009 at 10:48 AM
They are dudes? Forget it man – they are screwed.
izoneguy on August 5, 2009 at 10:21 AM
you said somethin’ there izzy
max1 on August 5, 2009 at 10:48 AM
Oh look, the rest of the world does to the US what Hamas and Hezbollah have been doing to Israel for years.
Some people, no matter how “intelligent”, will never learn.
ballz2wallz on August 5, 2009 at 10:51 AM
2 dudes 1 chick
ballz2wallz on August 5, 2009 at 10:52 AM
The thing is, if we write off these stupid Americans, then at a later date, some not stupid American can get grabbed somewhere and we will be told that they were caught crossing a border.
We should be powerful enough that every country in the world and even the most stupid terrorist in the world fears harming one hair on our heads.
myrenovations on August 5, 2009 at 10:56 AM
We should be powerful enough that every country in the world and even the most stupid terrorist in the world fears harming one hair on our heads.
myrenovations on August 5, 2009 at 10:56 AM
That’s what happens when an uber liberal guy like Obama gets elected. They knew not to mess with us when W was in charge. They also know that liberal men have absolutely no balls.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 10:59 AM
Shocka! They’re UC-Berkeley appeasement toadies;
/who will the crocodiles eat last?
Terp Mole on August 5, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I don’t think any of us just want Iran to have their way with these folks. These ‘hikers’ are no different than the morons who run across the interstate instead of crossing over at a bridge. Sure, we are obligated to scrape them up and do what we can, but you won’t find many citizens willing to throw themselves infront of approaching cars to keep the jaywalkers from getting hit.
Limerick on August 5, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Terp Mole on August 5, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Looks like these kids bought into Obama’s buy the world a Coke crap. These people did not hate us because of Bush, they hate us because we are Americans, period.
TXMomof3 on August 5, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Exactly. Tiny BS countries like Iran and North Korea should be shaking with fear any time they encounter an American, affraid that one might report unkind treatment back to our country.
I’m obviously exaggerating but only slightly.
Also, where’s liberal343? Isn’t he/she/whatever supposed to be in here telling us how much diplomacy works here? Gibbs just announced Obama’s support for Ahmadinejad. Aren’t we supposed to be best buds now?
Esthier on August 5, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Last I saw of 343 was him/her/it proclaiming that the Russian navy is a joke.
Limerick on August 5, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Of course. How typical.
Esthier on August 5, 2009 at 11:08 AM
I known damn well that all three of those hikers voted for Obambi last fall. Only supporters of the One would be stupid enough to go hiking along the Iranian border. Part of me wants to say “leave those fools to their fate.”
Percy_Peabody on August 5, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Iranians routinely wed then rape imprisoned women before executing them.”
Not good prospects for Bauer’s girlfriend, Ms. Shourd.
Terp Mole on August 5, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Geez, you’d think with those qualifications he’d be able to negotiate their release himself.
ROFL! Just kidding!
kg598301 on August 5, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Send Jimmy.
moonsbreath on August 5, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Iranian hostage Sarah Shourd wrote:
Squatting in an Iranian prison today, I wonder if Sarah still feels ashamed to be an American?
Terp Mole on August 5, 2009 at 11:23 AM
About those three hikers – they are CIA agents alright. I guarantee it.
el gordo on August 5, 2009 at 11:24 AM
You’d think someone who is that “smart” would realize that a minor in Arabic wouldn’t do him any good in a country where the major language is FARSI.
Perhaps he and Obama should take a class in not all Muslim countries speak Arabic.
mjk on August 5, 2009 at 11:26 AM
This sounds like a job for “Impeached Man”!!!!
More slippery than a freshly stained blue dress, able to eat his weight in Dough Boys…..look up in the sky, it’s Ted Kennedy, it’s Chris Wallace, no…it’s another old, fat white guy working for Obama and looking for attention, it’s ……Impeached Man!!!!!
Hening on August 5, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Much like John Bolton in today’s WaPo, Ed Morrissey offers no suggestion of what should be done. Typical of the right these days: criticizing what’s going on without offering any real solutions of their own.
orange on August 5, 2009 at 11:28 AM
That and some training can get you a job as shift manager at MacDonald’s
Hening on August 5, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Very well put. And note, Barry’s the world’s pet dog, not our pet dog. Here, he’s the top dog. And if any Americans seem “fishy” about health care, or a Cambridge Police Officer arrests one of his friends, he barks and bites us.
Bad dog.
Loxodonta on August 5, 2009 at 11:32 AM
This, like paying ransom to pirates, will only encourage third-world armpit regimes to kidnap more Americans.
Alden Pyle on August 5, 2009 at 11:34 AM
Two big differences with the right and your boys here:
1) Appeasement is not on the list of possibilities
2) They didn’t vote for the brain trust that is supposed to be dealing with this mess, and has no clue other than trying to be friends with those that would kill us.
Hening on August 5, 2009 at 11:34 AM
On the other hand, Arabic might come in handy when he negotiates with the Arab Basiji militia that Iran employs for prison rape duty.
Terp Mole on August 5, 2009 at 11:36 AM
who the F hikes in friggin Iran / Iraq? Not the brightest bulb on the tree.
Alden Pyle on August 5, 2009 at 11:37 AM
The weak Anglo-Saxon kings used to pay off the Danes not to attack them. The policy was called “Danegeld”. That’s where we’re headed with this administration, with Impeached Bill Clinton as their bag man.
Hening on August 5, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Right, cause the Left was so big about offering real solutions to Bush when he was president. But then, this criticism is typical of your posts here: vapid and highly partisan.
Esthier on August 5, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I saw photos of the three hikers, yesterday.
They look like the grandchildren of dope smoking hippies.
Apples don’t fall far from the trees.
elderberry on August 5, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Gibbs just announced he was wrong.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iZfgLuKrg3QBRltJ0qQMIzgIohdQD99SQAK00
Phoenician on August 5, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Here’s my solution, bright eyes. Leave them there. They’re grown up enough to go hiking in Iraq, get lost into Iran, they deserve to be stuck in that sh*thole.
Good enough solution for you?
Or perhaps you should go over there and negotiate their release?
mjk on August 5, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Reaping the harvest of appeasement.
bloviator on August 5, 2009 at 12:00 PM
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