[marstegreg]

Anyone else think this is a set up for a prisoner swap from Gitmo? The last bunch he released didn’t do anything for his image. I think Obama wants to release a lot more Prisoners from Gitmo but needs a good reason to do so. This gives him one. Just thinking out loud....

[Qbert]

There could be something like that going on- or maybe it’s just a way for them to extort more money from Obumbler.

OTOH, this almost seems like something the military would take the lead in doing. Civil war brewing?

[bgill]

Anyone else think this is a set up for a prisoner swap from Gitmo?

Agreed. Egypt didn't do this on their own. They had to have been given a green light on it. Something's up and whatever it is it isn't good for the US.

[piasa]

I'm surprised they haven't asked for the Blind Sheikh of 1993 World Trade Center bombing fame. One of the perils of keeping these critters alive as criminals rather than dead as terrorists is that sooner or later their buddies will try to spring them. There's been several efforts so far to gain his release but all were failures. It will be interesting to see if we get a request for the Blind Sheikh's release in this instance.

It's hard to look like a tough country when perps from that and the 1998 US embassy bombings are still safe and sound getting three squares a day in our comfy prisons and not a one of them was given the death penalty. Paying tribute to Egypt while they hold our people- which is how it will be seen- is going to make the US look weak enough for all these terrorist loons to come out and demand prisoner swaps.

On the other hand, the bad guys have to LOVE seeing the US so fouled up under Obama's bad management that it might be to their advantage to let Obama's state dept "win the hostages' freedom" - in time to give him a bounce in the elections.