Posted on 08/20/2011 8:53:43 AM PDT by Justaham
Two American men already held for two years in Tehran have been sentenced to eight years each in prison on charges of espionage and illegal entry into Iran, state TV reported on Saturday.
The announcement appeared to dash hopes for the imminent release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal after Iran's foreign minister suggested earlier this month that the trial could clear the way for their freedom.
The Americans deny the charges and say they were only hiking in a scenic and largely peaceful area of northern Iraq near the Iranian border.
The two men have been held since July 2009 after being taken into custody on the Iran-Iraq border. A third American who was taken with them, Sarah Shourd, was released in September 2010 on $500,000 bail and returned to the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
We call them hostages....
I guess Iran doesn’t have the Obama Amesty Plan.
In response, the undocumented Imam has given
Amnesty to all Iranians who have come through
the US border illegally.
America is soooooooo screwed.
Gee, somebody foreigner walks across our border, we give them a job, social security, health care, voting rights, a driver’s license and reduce admission to the state university of their choice.
But an American citizen stumbles into Iranian hands in this way and we leave them to the fate of whatever druthers Imadingynutjob has for the particular day in question.
Anyone with an once of sense is going to hike anywhere but the Middle East nowadays. If a rock looks suspicious the Iranians are going to arrest it these days?
This could set the stage for Iran to expel them in order to embarrass and denounce the United States in lieu of them serving their terms. Now they have been “convicted” and their legal status is no longer in question.
The wheels of diplomacy move in mysterious ways, and the US has made many similar distasteful (but necessary) deals to win the freedom of US Citizens unfairly imprisoned abroad.
Premier Hussein will no doubt be happy to throw in a deep bow to the Mullahs for good measure...but I see this as possible progress toward winning eventual freedom for these two.
Hostages? In Iran?
Déjà vu Jimmy Carter!
I understand that Obama couldn’t care less about this. And neither could Hillary. But you’d think someone, maybe a Republican, maybe their congresscritters, might speak up, and even ask WHY Obama doesn’t give a damn.
It used to be a pretty big thing when another country jailed Americans on false charges. It was one reason why Jimmy Carter lost the election.
They should whip out their degrees from Berekely in PEACE and CONFLICT studies and tell the Iranians how the cow ate the cabbage!
I’m sure the mention of Berekely will cow down the Iranians real quick!
Maybe they can all sing Kumbya togheter!
More about them...
“Shane Bauer, a 2007 honors graduate in peace and conflict studies,....”
http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/08/03_hikers.shtml
Blank the Iranians!
I know! Let’s let Barack Obama, who has won the respect of the entire world for his intelligence, liberalism, and presidential skills, work his magic with the Iranians to have them freed. /HUGE sarcasm
>>It used to be a pretty big thing when another country jailed Americans on false charges. <<
They were jailed for 1st Degree Criminal Stupidity.
Do you get a degree in this? Man, talk about flushing your $$$ down the drain. What kind of career can you get with that ... well, besides 8 years of making Iranian license plates?
I’ve got a different viewpoint. Don’t go swimming above waterfalls. Don’t go hiking anywhere near Iran.
Regardless of why they were there, the message being sent is that foreign goverments can do whatever they want to our citizens, and the Obama administration will do absolutely nothing about it.
I know I am a redneck idiot, but I have a list of things that anyone stupid enough to ignore ,deserves all they get.
I will place hiking across the borders of N. Korea and/or Iran at the top of that list.
Going to Mexico, either for tourism or to buy drugs.
Going to Cuba,
Riding a boat taking crap into Gaza.
Going to the Mid-East for a vacation,including Israel.
Getting in front of an Israeli bulldozer.
Joining a riot just because it’s something to do.
“They were jailed for 1st Degree Criminal Stupidity.”
Agreed.
Stupid is what stupid does.
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim, da do da do...
Agree!
Common sense is very uncommon these days.
I still don’t understand, for the life of me, why they were “hiking” where they were...a dangerous place to be sure and a woman with them. The risks were so incredibly, horribly huge. Just a trio of “can’t-we-all-just-get-along-kumbaya” libs, or something much more to their being in that location, ostensibly “hiking.”
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