What evidence do you have that the US government or military had anything to do with these people being where they were, or any knowledge that they were there? What possible government purpose could that serve?
I have no evidence of anything; as an avid backpacker I simply don’t believe that these people really thought this was a great place to break in their new boots. WESTERNERS ARE MURDERED THERE FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN BEING WESTERNERS. Is my suspicion so difficult to fathom? I have no idea who they worked for, if in fact they were spying. I’m sure our State Department warns people away from both of those countries, and that alone is reason to prevent them from playing any role in a diplomatic clash between us & Iran. If they are released they should be jailed in the US for causing this (or do they share no responsibility for their plight?).