And speaking of Iran...

I'm sure everyone has seen the headlines regarding the three hikers that strayed over the Iraq border into Iran.  Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal have been detained in Iraq since July 31, under speculation that they were spies.  The Iranian state newspaper recently announced that the three will be charged with espionage.  Sharia law dictates that espionage is punishable by death.  I wonder how that compares to the sentence Najibullah Zazi is going to receive for attempting to blow up a subway?

Sky News speculates that the three are held as hostages rather than spies.

The republic's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suggested in September that the detainees' release might be linked to the release of Iranian diplomats he said were being held by US troops in Iraq.

And good old Hilly, all she's doing is crying "Can't we all just get along?"

Speaking in Berlin, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the news and appealed for their release.

"We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," Mrs Clinton said.

She urged Tehran to free the group, calling on the authorities to "exercise compassion".

Shane Bauer is from Boulder, just a few miles up the road from here.  I've never met him, and although I don't agree with his politics I've been insanely jealous of his photography work for quite some time.  I can only hope that some of the bigwig Democratic fundraisers in Boulder are putting pressure on the Obama administration to bring these kids home.  But who am I kidding?  I'll be surprised if we see anything more than Hillary's brief statement.

Posted by: Alice H at 11:04 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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