[Billthedrill]

I hope you're right. The difficulty with this sort of thing is that one only ever gets the tip of the iceberg even if one is in the intel loop. Distilled through the press, who frankly never do understand matters military anyway, white can sometimes seem black.

I am a bit concerned, however, at the public impression this is making and whether the Iraqi government is aware of it. To release men who have done what these men have demands a quid pro quo that is considerably more than a promise to negotiate. It had better by God be worth it because one of those quids is American blood.

[oldenuff2no]

They should have just disappeared. A week or two playing water sports with the CIA and we would have extracted everything they ever hoped to know.

[Marine_Uncle]

Your two replies ring true in my ears. I will not re-iterate your varied possible explainations. They all are quite reasonable.
But sure as you indicate, this is no time to give any allowance to any Iranian operatives caught in Iraq. The Iraqi are sending mixed signals at best, unless again the key man has specific instructions to return to his masters.