From Saturday's Washington Post:
U.S. renews call for Iran to free jailed AmericansJennifer Rubin writes:
The Obama administration renewed calls Friday for Iran to immediately release three American hikers detained for nearly nine months and appealed to the Iranian government to issue their families visas to visit them.
A day after the families said two of the three are in poor health, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said there was no reason for their continued detention. He spoke after receiving a report from Swiss diplomats who were allowed to visit the trio in Tehran's Evin prison Thursday.
"While we welcome this news, we continue to call for their release," Crowley said. "We are aware of the families' concerns about their children's physical and emotional state of health." He said the families should be given visas.
"These three Americans have been in detention for almost nine months without formal charges or access to legal representation," he said. "They should be released without further delay."
Well, we certainly know the mullahs see no downside to holding Americans. No serious consequences will be forthcoming and they might even get a diplomatic pat on the back if they let them go before they perish in Evin. They have learned from this president that whether it is violations of existing UN sanctions, missed deadlines in nuclear talks, aggression by their junior partner Bashar Assad, or grabbing Americans, the administration never lowers the boom.
If you have the sense you’ve seen this before — a radical Iranian regime kidnapping Americans to demonstrate the impotence of a naive American president — you’re right. But now, with the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran, the stakes are much higher.
You can check out the following sites for further information:
- Free the Hikers (Web Site)
- Free the Hikers YouTube Group
- Free the Hikers (Facebook)
- Free the Hikers: Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd in Solidarity (Facebook)
Technorati Tag: Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal and Iran.
"Lowering the boom" is reserved for Israel. Come to think of it, I've never see the Obami be really angry with Iran. Its good to know from the mullahs' point of view that nothing they do will ever offend the Great Satan.
ReplyDeleteIncluding the imprisonment of American citizens in Iran.
Honestly, the concern the "parents" had for these kids' mental health should have started long before they went hiking into Iran.....
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