Iran arrests constitute kidnapping

OPINION:

What is the best way to describe the case of Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, the three American hikers who were arrested last year by Iranian authorities, allegedly for espionage?

Miss Shourd, who was released in September, has gone on record stating the three were lured across the unmarked border by the same guard who arrested them. According to her testimony, the guard played a dirty trick: “He pointed to the ground and said ’Iran’ and pointed to the trail we had been on before he waved to us, then said ’Iraq. We did not actually enter Iran until he gestured to us.”

With this revelation, it is time we stop mincing words. This is not detainment. It is not even arrest. It is kidnapping, pure and simple.

This is not the first time, of course, that the Iranians have resorted to this favorite tactic of terrorists and rogue regimes. In 1979, they famously held 52 Americans hostage for over 14 months.

But this time they have an excuse. They say the Americans are kidnappers, too. They accuse the United States of kidnapping Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, among others. Mr. Amiri most likely defected, but let us assume he was kidnapped. It is still perfectly justified; indeed, considering the danger that Iran poses with its nuclear weapons program, it would be wrong for America not to engage in covert operations of this sort. A man like Mr Amiri - who may hold key information about the nuclear program - is no civilian.

But who were the three young Americans that Iran so brazenly kidnapped? Mr. Fattal is an environmentalist and a teacher. Mr. Bauer is a freelance journalist. Miss Shourd spent her time in Damascus helping Iraqi refugees. One can hardly find three Americans less likely to spy against Iran than these three graduates of the University of California, Berkeley. They are the embodiment of that well-meaning, generous and yet naive spirit, which constitutes one of the many fabrics of our modern-day America. They are civilians in this fight. Let us hope the Iranians realize this and act accordingly.

BENJAMIN RA

Washington