What with the Iranian nuke deal and the Bergdahl trade, one would think that the administration would be eager to combine the two and combine its questionable negotiating skills to make political hay and get back four Americans being held in Iran. Thus far, at least publicly, there doesn't seem to be any attempt to link the negotiations to the fate of the four captive Americans, but the public outcry has been met with yawns and denials that anything other than sanctions or nuclear weaponry would be included in the agreement with Iran.
The administration has a very curious approach to negotiations and getting Americans released from jail in foreign countries. Marine Sergeant Andrew Tahmooressi took a wrong turn at a border crossing in California and spent four months in a Mexican jail because he had weapons in his car that he was lawfully carrying -- in the United States. What should have been a very quick diplomatic resolution dragged on for months. Contrary to assertions that the administration did the right thing by not pressing for Mr. Tahmooressi's immediate return, there are scores of such incidents involving citizens from both countries who mistakenly cross the border and are returned with reasonable dispatch. Such was not the case with Mr. Tahmooressi.
Then there is the journalist, the Marine, a pastor and a tourist reputed to be a CIA agent being held by the Iranians. Three of the cases seem like slam dunks: The journalists and the pastor, at least, should be returned. I suppose each of them could be a covert agent, but there is little evidence beside the Iranians' assertions in support of such a thesis. The pastor, Saeed Abidini, is a Christian, which seems the only plausible reason for his incarceration. The journalist, Jason Rezaian, is of Iranian descent as is Pastor Abidini. He's been charged with security-related offenses, probably espionage, and awaits trial. The Marine, Amir Hekmati, obtained permission from the Iranian government before his trip so he could visit family in the country. He's also been charged with espionage. The fourth, Robert Levinson, was an FBI employee investigating cigarette smuggling in a region that doesn't require a visa to visit. Iran has denied Mr. Levinson was in its country, but the state-run Iranian press has acknowledged the government's involvement in his disappearance.
If nothing else, we should hold up the nuke deal until the fates of these men are settled, preferably with repatriation. But for some reason, the government is proving itself feckless and refuses to include their cases in the nuclear deal.
This is both typical and unusual at the same time. Remember the trade for Bowe Bergdahl? The administration created a cover story that Bergdahl was a serviceman who had served with honor and distinction and that under the rubric of leaving no American behind, we had to get him back. At the same time, it served the President's purpose of emptying Gitmo to trade five hardened Taliban terrorists for him. The political implications were transparent, only to blow up in the administration's face when the Army later brought court martial charges against Bergdahl for desertion and misbehavior with the enemy.
It would seem like a no-brainer: Either we get out American citizens back or there's no deal, the sanctions will continue and Iran's economy will be ruined. Yet the administration seems to be hell-bent on restoring the country that is the foremost exporter of terrorism, one with whom we are in a proxy war in Yemen, to the league of nations and will not allow four Americans' lives to get in the way. The chances of Iran ever having the capability to send an intercontinental nuclear weapon to the States are slim, but lifting sanctions and getting Iran to slow down its effort to build the bomb are more important than Americans' lives. Just as emptying Gitmo and ridding ourselves of five terrorists in exchange for a deserter whom the President could turn into political fodder is more important than keeping the terrorists locked up.
History will be the best judge of this. Perhaps there are things to which we aren't privvy at this time. But unless there's some shocking revelation in a history book in the future, these missteps involving Americans' lives will paint a shameful picture of our government.
(c) 2015 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles
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