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Iran has moved the three American hikers it captured when they accidentally strayed over the border near Kurdistan to Tehran. They do not consider them tourists who made a simple mistake and are openly considering charging 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.”
One thing no one is mentioning in the media is that aside from being Americans, all three happen to be Jews. Don't be surprised if they end up 'confessing' to be spies for Israel as well as America. As a matter of fact, charging them with being spies for the Zionists rather than for the CIA might be a good tactic for the mullahs, given the widespread Jew hatred in Iranian society.
Ironically, all three are unreservedly `anti-Zionist', solidly pro-Palestinian and on the far Left to the point of almost being cartoonish.
Shane Bauer is a journalist from California with a degree in peace and conflict studies from Berkeley, and his credits include writing for Left-oriented pubs like the San Francisco Chronicle, The Nation, Mother Jones and New American Media. He was captured with his girlfriend, Sarah Shourd and Joshua Fattal, whose family originally came from Iran and who writes for Jewish Week.
The idea that these three are 'spies' is ludicrous on the face of it. None of them are fluent in Farsi ( although Bauer speaks Arabic and is reportedly an Arabophile), were carrying none of the sort of advanced photographic or communications gear you would expect spies to have. And the trio were conducting their trip on a shoestring, staying in budget accommodations.
What Iran is looking for here is a chance to further humiliate the Obama Administration, especially after Obama backtracked on Robert Gibbs' gaffe in referring to Ahmadinejad as 'the elected leader of Iran'.
And of course, remove the spotlight from those continually spinning centrifuges.
The last hostage the US redeemed from Iran was journalist Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to 8 years for reportedly practicing journalism without permission(!).
The price for her freedom was the release of five Iranian Qods Force operatives captured by the US while fighting against us in Iraq.
Rest assured, the Iranians are going to demand a much higher price for the release of these three 'Zionists', and they will milk this for all it's worth.
It appears Obama's 'unclenched fist' towards Iran isn't working so well.
While the CIA is probably incompetent enough to send hikers into Iraq to enter into Iran as spies who aren't even fluent in Farsi, I doubt the Mossad is even capable of such incompetence. Besides why would the CIA send people into Iran when a significant portion of the American intellegence community, the American news media, and the International news media act like they on the payroll of the Iranian government any way. Besides, Iranian agents who are buried deeply in the American government would warn the appropiate Iranian officals of any spying activities against them almost instantly. In other words, if these people were American spies, it is highly unlikely they could have made it all the to the Iranian border before being intercepted.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that if these people should be found innocent some how that the story in the media will be how the Americans applied pressure or some how manipulated the system to get these people off. If they are found guilty, the world media will applaud and howl in rage at the Americans for their actions. How can we ensure these people get a fair trial?
The propaganda war against America has been going on for so long that I don't see what we can say or do that will change anyone's minds about us. After all, our enemies have had a head start of years against us. It has gotten to the point that when Iran, Russia, China, or all three finally do decide to make good on their threats to attack America, the world will applaud at how America deserved such a fate. How can we combat the propaganda against us?