US hikers to be freed on bail of 1 Million Dollars, Ahmadinejad says

[Lacarnut]

I agree with you...DU best start up a fund raiser...the American tax payer should not have to pay for these Dummys

You have got that right. There are enough liberal freaks that can easily pony up a million. That is pocket change to save these poor misguided souls. Barf. 

[thundley4]

Background
The three Americans are anti-war, social justice and Palestine Solidarity Movement activists.[8][9][10][11] [12] They had been living and active in the Middle East, and were on holiday in Iraqi Kurdistan, an autonomous region of Iraq free from the sectarian struggle that dominates much of Iraq.[13][14][15] They had been advised of the suitability of the region for a holiday by friends who had been there and through Internet research; and were recommended the Ahmed Awa waterfall, a popular Kurdish tourist destination, by a number of local people whilst they were in Sulaymaniyah.[15] After visiting the waterfall, they continued walking within what they believed to be Iraqi Kurdistan, up to and including the time they were detained by Iranian border guards.[16]

[edit]Shane Bauer
Shane Bauer, who grew up both in Onamia, Minnesota and San Leandro, California,[17] is a freelance photojournalist and journalist who has worked for Pacifica News Service, Mother Jones, The Nation and other left-leaning media outlets, using his fluency in speaking Arabic.[18]
[edit]Sarah Shourd
Sarah Emily Shourd, who grew up in Los Angeles, California,[17] worked in education and social justice in Damascus, Syria where she provided educational opportunities to refugees from the war in Iraq and taught English. Shourd was released by Iran on September 14, 2010 on $500,000 bail.[3] Shourd's bail does not require that she remain in Iran, and her case will still go to trial along with Bauer and Fattal. Shourd's mother has said she had been denied treatment for serious health problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.[19] In May 2011, Shourd announced that she would not return to Iran for trial, citing acute ill-health.[20]

[edit]Joshua Fattal
Joshua "Josh" Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania,[17] an environmentalist and educator, had been from January to May 2009 a teaching fellow for the International Honors Program (IHP)'s "Health and Community" study abroad program. Prior to traveling with the IHP, Fattal lived and worked at Aprovecho in Oregon, USA, exploring and promoting sustainable living practices.
Various media outlets and bloggers have confused Fattal with another Joshua Fattal, a student that has written for the teen supplement of a Jewish paper, the Yeshivah of Flatbush in Brooklyn, New York.[21]

Wikipedia

The New York Times has decided that the Iran angle is the most significant element of the latest WikiLeaks package.

Among the elements the newspaper highlights is a report that the US hikers arrested by Iran in July 2009 may have been taken on the Iraq side of the border.

The way I read the relevant document, it seems the report was filed by soldiers who arrived late to the scene and relied on hearsay.

Many will take it as definitive proof of a kidnap; to me, it's impossible to conclude with any real confidence what really happened.

But the really interesting comment comes at the end of the document, under the heading "S2 assessment":

The lack of co-ordination on the part of these hikers, particularly after being forewarned, indicates an intent to agitate and create publicity regarding international policies on Iran.

It would appear that the military not only knew of the hikers' presence in the region, but warned them in advance that they were inviting trouble.

Furthermore, it seems the military themselves concluded the hikers were there with the express purpose of creating publicity ... not rock climbing or hiking.

al Jazeera

It looks like they were more than innocent hikers, but were there looking to damage US interests.

Iraq's New Death Squads. by Shane Bauer.

[Mike220]

Wikipedia
 al Jazeera

It looks like they were more than innocent hikers, but were there looking to damage US interests.

Iraq's New Death Squads. by Shane Bauer.

Ah, so devotees of St. Rachael of the Pancakes. If only they'd join her. Stupidity this profound should be terminal.

[true_blood]

...and then it came to me. No one but a dumbass liberal who doesn't understand evil and thinks the world is a safe place, but America sucks.

This would be the exact reason. It's in the libs mindset.
A lib thinks, "It really can't be that bad. After all, they are building nukes for "peaceful purposes"."
OH REALLY?!?!

[DefiantSix]

Bail, ransom, bribe.  What the hell ever you wanna call it.

I say we let the Marine Corps deliver "the goods". IIRC, they have a bit of institutional experience in this arena.  (I wonder if there are any descendants of Stephen Decatur kicking around looking for something to do.)