Free Republic

"Rooz: Kurdish Officials' Silence on American Hikers Affair – Motivated by Fear of Iran" SNIPPET: "A recent article in the American journal The Nation stated that the American hikers who have been detained in Iran for over a year for entering the country illegally were actually seized in Iraqi Kurdistan. In response to this article, Kurdish journalists told the Iranian online daily Rooz that the silence of Kurdish officials in this matter was due to their desire to avoid confronting Iran." The spokesman of the Kurdistan government has refused to answer Rooz's questions on this issue."

Obama amputates our nuclear arms By: Charles Krauthammer ...snippet...Under President Obama’s new policy, however, if the state that has just attacked us with biological or chemical weapons is “in compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty,” explained Gates, then “the U.S. pledges not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against it.” Imagine the scenario: Hundreds of thousands are lying dead in the streets of Boston after a massive anthrax or nerve gas attack. The president immediately calls in the lawyers to determine whether the attacking state is in compliance with the NPT. If it turns out that the attacker...

The United States remains deeply concerned by the case of three American hikers, Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, and Sarah Shourd, who have been detained in Iran without charge or access to legal representation since July 2009. While we welcome the decision by the Iranian authorities to allow Shane, Sarah and Josh to receive another Swiss consular visit at long last, we were deeply alarmed to learn from the families today of their physical and emotional state of health. We fear their well-being will suffer even more unless their case is resolved without delay. We strongly believe these urgent developments are...

(04-08) 18:15 PDT BERKELEY -- Iran appears to have hardened its position on three UC Berkeley graduates who have been held in the country since last summer, accusing them of having links to U.S. intelligence. The charge, made by Iran's intelligence minister in an interview on state television, elicited strong denials Thursday from the U.S. State Department and the families of the prisoners, who were arrested after hiking across the border from Iraq. It also struck experts as an orchestrated move in a high-stakes chess game between Iran and the United States over nuclear ambitions and other issues. Read more:...