US Hiking "Spies" Released After 2 Years

Yesterday Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, two young American hikers, were finally released by Iran after spending two years in prison on trumped-up charges of spying and espionage.

The 29-year-old men, along with Sarah Shourd, were day-hiking in Kurdistan in northern Iraq along the poorly marked Iran-Iraq border when they were taken into custody by Iranian soldiers on July 31, 2009. The trio either inadvertently strayed into Iran or the soldiers came across the border into Iraq and arrested them for illegal entry.

The three hikers were perfect hostages for Iran--they were young and naïve and were obviously leftists since they were a freelance writer, an environmentalist, and an English language teacher for Iraqis. If they were indeed spies, then they were of the bumbling sort like Dan Akroyd and Chevy Chase in "Spies like Us" rather than the suave and smooth 007.

While it is wonderful that Josh and Shane were finally released yesterday (Sarah was freed last year for medical reasons), their detention and subsequent release was orchestrated by the Iranian government for maximizing propaganda. It's ironic that the release, a grand humanitarian gesture, comes just before Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gives a speech at the United Nations in New York City.

The charade deepens as the detained hikers were simply pawns in a diplomatic game between Iran and the United States as well as between Ahmadinejad and the conservative Irani clerics. The two-year jailing of the American kids and their sentence a few weeks ago to eight years in prison was harsh, inhumane, and based on no hard evidence. It's no wonder that the Iranian strategy and hard-line justice back-fired, causing the government to back-pedal with many nations and human rights organizations callingfor the men's release.

Now, after a $500,000 bail, errr ransom, was paid and an agreement mediated by the government of Oman, a Mideast sultanate with ties to both Iran and the United States, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer were released and flown out of Tehran to Oman for a joyful reunion with their families.

It's about time those innocent men were free. But it all begs the question: Who's in charge in Iran? After Ahmadinejad told NBC's Ann Curry last week that the men would be free soon, the hard-liners on the court stepped in and said it wasn't Ahmadinejad's decision.

The whole situation reflects badly on the Iranian government...perhaps this event could be a catalyst for a Persian Spring, allowing the Iranian people to experience the freedom just granted to their two fellow hostages.

Photograph above: Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal prior to their release in Tehran. Photo courtesy Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA