What media coverage omits about U.S. hikers released by Iran

[Luminous Animal]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/09/26/iran/index.html

(You can watch or read their press conference on Democracy Now here: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/26/freed_us_hiker_shane_bauer_iranian )

Fattal began by recounting the horrible conditions of the prison in which they were held, including being kept virtually all day in a tiny cell alone and hearing other prisoners being beaten; he explained that, of everything that was done to them, "solitary confinement was the worst experience of all of our lives." Bauer then noted that they were imprisoned due solely to what he called the "32 years of mutual hostility between America and Iran," and said: "the irony is that oppose U.S. policies towards Iran which perpetuate this hostility." After complaining that the two court sessions they attended were "total shams" and that "we'd been held in almost total isolation - stripped of our rights and freedoms," he explained:

In prison, every time we complained about our conditions, the guards would remind us of comparable conditions at Guantanamo Bay; they'd remind us of CIA prisons in other parts of the world; and conditions that Iranians and others experience in prisons in the U.S.

We do not believe that such human rights violation on the part of our government justify what has been done to us: not for a moment. However, we do believe that these actions on the part of the U.S. provide an excuse for other governments - including the government of Iran - to act in kind.

...

Fattal then expressed "great thanks to world leaders and individuals" who worked for their release, including Hugo Chavez, the governments of Turkey and Brazil, Sean Penn, Noam Chomsky, Mohammad Ali, Cindy Sheehan, Desmond Tutu, as well as Muslims from around the world and "elements within the Iranian government," as well as U.S. officials.

Unsurprisingly, one searches in vain for the inclusion of these facts and remarks in American media accounts of their release and subsequent press conference. Instead, typical is this ABC News story, which featured tearful and celebratory reactions from their family, detailed descriptions of their conditions and the pain and fear their family endured, and melodramatic narratives about how their "long, grueling imprisonment is over" after "781 days in Iran's most notorious prison." This ABC News article on their press conference features many sentences about Iran's oppressiveness -- "Hikers Return to the U.S.: 'We Were Held Hostage'"; "we heard the screams of other prisoners being beaten" -- with hardly any mention of the criticisms Fattal and Bauer voiced regarding U.S. policy that provided the excuse for their mistreatment and similar treatment which the U.S. doles out both in War on Terror prisons around the world and even domestic prisons at home.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

1. K&R for them and the people who helped in their release.

[lunatica]

2. The only National conversation their bosses will allow is what they choose to discuss

Republicans love their wars. They don't want to criticize them.

[lsewpershad]

4. so true

[gratuitous]

3. Where are the conservatives?

Fattal's list of world leaders and individuals names six persons, not one of whom is a likely speaker at next year's Republican National Convention. Where was Mitt? Where was Rick? Why haven't these stalwart defenders of freedom weighed in? And perhaps even more to the point, why aren't they asked about their silence by the popular media?

[rhett o rick]

7. Seems Obama has been very quiet. nm

[PragmaticLiberal]

20. Here you go...

President Obama released the following statement on the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, two American hikers who were jailed as spies in Iran the past two years:

I welcome the release of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from detention in Iran and am very pleased that they are being reunited with their loved ones. The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has won my admiration, and is now coming to an end with Josh and Shane back in their arms. All Americans join their families and friends in celebrating their long-awaited return home.

We are deeply grateful to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said of Oman, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Swiss government, and to all our partners and allies around the world who have worked steadfastly over the past two years to secure the release of Shane and Josh.

http://www.nwcn.com/home/related/Obama-statement-on-release-of-American-hikers-in-Iran-130302873.html

[rhett o rick]

32. He worked so hard to help their release. nm

[sabrina 1]

41. Why didn't he thank Chavez?

[Pisces]

5. How about anyone mentioning the arrogance of these kids to be in the area!! This is not a

safe location. Yet these kids felt entitled to go into a region that is hostile wearing their " I'm an American " shield. I am glad they are out, but we need to consider how much time, effort, and money went into saving these hard headed individuals.

What kind of ego leads you to believe you should go to Iraq in the middle of a war???

[theoldman]

12. They need to get their ass kicked for being stupid.

Only an idiot would go on a hike near the border of a country that hates the US.

[Luminous Animal]

18. We are not at war with Iraqi Kurdistan. It is an autonomous region and we've no military

there to speak of.

[Pisces]

22. So everyone should decide to go to the Iran/ Iraq border because the hiking is great there? No pure

American arrogance is at hand here. Go where we want, when we want. This was foolish and irresponsible, they should not get a pass just because they were hostages. Other people need to learn that we are not entitled to go into dangerous regions and expect nothing will happen.

[Luminous Animal]

24. It is the Iraqi Kurdistan (autonomous region) border and the hikers have stated many times over

that they do not believe they ever crossed the border. Iraqi Kurdistan IS NOT DANGEROUS.

[Pisces]

29. Whether they crossed or not is moot. We were in a war in Iraq. This country is not stable. There is

no one monitoring the border. The fact that they were apprehended makes it dangerous. My argument is that they could hike Kilmanjaro , Machu Pichu, or any other area where we are not currently bombing.
Why in the name of all that is holy would you choose this particular location.

I am glad they are home safe, but Americans as a group need to be less arrogant and entitled.

[Luminous Animal]

30. Arrgh! We are not at war with Iraqi Kurdistan AN AUTONOMOUS REGION.

It administers it's own affairs, it has about 200 U.S. military personnel stationed there and it is not dangerous. We are not bombing one damn thing along that border.

Iran also borders Turkey. Would you admonish them for hiking in Turkey if the situation had ended up similarly?

Jeesh.

[Pisces]

31. We obviously disagree. I don't think they had any business in the region. The US is then

obligated to rescue these fools. The same goes for people trying to cross into North Korea. I think it is American arrogance that allows people a measure of invincibility. They know it will become an international situation, they know that we will try and recover them. I think someone should question these kids and their decisions.

[tblue37]

33. One at least was doing research for a book. They were not there to hike.

They were in that part of Iraq, and they went on a hike while there and were captured.

[truedelphi]

36. Every single day, you read of people being saved by the Coast Guard, or

Special Rescue service people. And though I am glad they' re rescued, I am still puzzled by people's foolishness, and their arrogance.

People do need to consider that certain locations are not advisable. That certain weather conditions are not advisable.

It always blows my mind that people go on major hikes, like depicted in the movie "127 Hours" all by their lonesome. The simple act of breaking an ankle can spell the difference between living and dying. And that dying occurs in a most horrid, lonely and painful way.

[malaise]

26. Ding ding we have a winner

They should thank George Bush for the world's views on America.

[Whisp]

28. I just don't get that either.

of all the places to go... sheesh.

[russspeakeasy]

34. That's the question I've been asking...

:evilgrin: but as of yet, no good answers...

[hvn_nbr_2]

6. "32 years of mutual hostility" shows American ignorance.

A more accurate statement would have been "57 years of mutual hostility." That's when the hostility started, when the CIA overthrew the popular, democratically-elected, pro-Western government of Iran to install a vicious dictator at the behest of BP greed.

[arcane1]

11. Thank you!!!!!

The have done a great job over the years of making that fact as little-known as possible.

There would have been no hostages, or Islamic revolution, had it not been for our actions oh so many years ago.

[sad sally]

14. Americans have short memories, especially when it comes to history.

In order to bolster Iraq's position in the Iraq-Iran war, the Reagan administration funneled billions to Iraq through Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt to transfer US weapons, including Howitzers, Huey helicopters, and bombs to Iraq to fight Iran. At the time, this was against the laws exporting arms.

Rumsfeld (a civilian at the time) met with Sadam and assured him the US would help Iraq with support in fighting Iran. The CIA provided Hussein intelligence they used dropping mustard gas on Iranian troops. The US exported batches of lethal strains of anthrax, weapons grade botulin poison to Iraq to be used against Iran.

Four major battles were fought from April to August 1988, in which the Iraqis massively and effectively used chemical weapons to defeat the Iranians. Nerve gas and blister agents such as mustard gas were used. By this time the US Defense Intelligence Agency was heavily involved with Saddam Hussein in battle plan assistance, intelligence gathering and post battle debriefing. In the last major battle with of the war, 65,000 Iranians are killed, many with poison gas. Use of chemical weapons in war is in violation of the Geneva accords of 1925.

Less than three years later, the US invades Iraq. Is it any wonder Iran mistrusts the United States?

[Luminous Animal]

16. He was referring to 1979. The year the Pahlavi was deposed, hostage crisis began and the year

that we ceased diplomatic ties with Iran.

[court jester]

19. +100

The 1953 Iranian coup d'état (known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup<1>) was the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh on 19 August 1953, orchestrated by the intelligence agencies of the United Kingdom and the United States under the name TPAJAX Project.<2> The coup saw the transition of Mohammad-Rezā Shāh Pahlavi from a constitutional monarch to an authoritarian one who relied heavily on United States support to hold on to power until his own overthrow in February 1979.<3>

In 1951, Iran's oil industry was nationalized with near-unanimous support of Iran's parliament in a bill introduced by Mossadegh who led the nationalist parliamentarian faction. Iran's oil had been controlled by the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC).<4> Popular discontent with the AIOC began in the late 1940s, a large segment of Iran's public and a number of politicians saw the company as exploitative and a vestige of British imperialism.<5>

Despite Mosaddegh's popular support, Britain was unwilling to negotiate its single most valuable foreign asset, and instigated a worldwide boycott of Iranian oil to pressure Iran economically.<6> Initially, Britain mobilized its military to seize control of the Abadan oil refinery, the world's largest, but Prime Minister Clement Attlee opted instead to tighten the economic boycott<7> while using Iranian agents to undermine Mosaddegh's government.<8> With a change to more conservative governments in both Britain and the United States, Churchill and the U.S. Eisenhower administration decided to overthrow Iran's government though the predecessor U.S. Truman administration had opposed a coup.<9>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup

oh, and there was this too:

Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655) was a civilian jet airliner shot down by U.S. missiles on 3 July 1988, over the Strait of Hormuz, toward the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The aircraft, an Airbus A300B2-203 operated by Iran Air, was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when it was destroyed by the U.S. Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes, killing all 290 passengers and crew aboard, including 66 children,<1> ranking it ninth among the deadliest disasters in aviation history. It was the highest death toll of any aviation incident in the Indian Ocean and the highest death toll of any incident involving an Airbus A300 anywhere in the world. Vincennes was traversing the Strait of Hormuz, inside Iranian territorial waters, and at the time of the attack IR655 was within Iranian airspace.<2>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655

If Iran had shot down a US Civilian Airliner with 290 aboard (66 children) in our own airspace most Americans would remember it...

[Luminous Animal]

21. Again. He was referring to 32 years of mutual government hostility starting in 1979

And the closure of our embassy. Prior to that, we had an embassy and the Iranian government was our friend.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

8. Arn't comments like this...

"However, we do believe that these actions on the part of the U.S. provide an excuse for other governments - including the government of Iran - to act in kind."
what got Tony Bennet in trouble last week?

I couldn't agree more.

[spanone]

9. iranians did not waterboard them.....we would have

[Rebubula]

35. Well...

...that makes it all better then.

Do not try to paint the Iranians as being some sort of kind government to dissent. Perhaps you should read up on the Savak and some of their less pleasant techniques.

They make Gitmo look like a work release program


Ignorance in order to promote a point is not attractive or convincing.

[Schema Thing]

10. Er, I read those statements in an ABC news story

[louslobbs]

13. K&R n/t

Lou

[lib2DaBone]

15. You want me to believe they were on a "Hike" near Iran...?

OK.. whatever.

I'm glad they are free. My only question... who paid their million dollar ransom and why?

If I was arrested on the Iran border.. I have a sinking feeling that I would rot there for eternity.

Could they have been working for the CIA.. Hmmm?

Well.. I'm not sure... but if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...etc, etc

[A Physicist]

39. Clearly these kids are/were not CIA

"Shane Bauer

Shane Bauer, who grew up both in Onamia, Minnesota and San Leandro, California,is a freelance photojournalist and journalist who has worked for Pacifica News Service, Mother Jones, The Nation and other left-leaning media outlets, using his fluency in speaking Arabic.

Sarah Shourd

Sarah Emily Shourd, who grew up in Los Angeles, California, worked in education and social justice in Damascus, Syria, where she provided educational opportunities to refugees from the war in Iraq and taught English. Shourd was released by Iran on September 14, 2010 for 5 billion rial<3> (about 465,000 US$)bail. Shourd's bail does not require that she remain in Iran, and her case will still go to trial along with Bauer and Fattal. Shourd's mother has said she had been denied treatment for serious health problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells. In May 2011, Shourd announced that she would not return to Iran for trial, citing acute ill-health.

Joshua Fattal

Joshua "Josh" Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, an environmentalist and educator, had been from January to May 2009 a teaching fellow for the International Honors Program (IHP)'s "Health and Community" study abroad program. Prior to traveling with the IHP, Fattal lived and worked at Aprovecho in Oregon, USA, exploring and promoting sustainable living practices."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_detention_of_American_hikers_by_Iran

You expect me to believe the CIA would create fake cover stories that make these kids look like humanitarian leftists or exploit the fact that they really are and construct cover stories around the truth? These cover stories are too good; to believe this I’d have to believe many people in the CIA are recruited from places like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Princeton, etc. That would be like the CIA using a truly left leaning person like Valerie Plame (married to solid left leaning Democrat Ambassador, Joe Wilson) as a covert agent. That’s just not plausible…ah, ah, NEVERMIND.

[Cherchez la Femme]

17. Absolutely right

those treaties and laws aren't about being 'bleeding hearts' regarding foreigners,

they were enacted to protect our own!

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Whisp]

25. I did hear that boxed copy on CNN.

but have not been following it much on other news.

[marmar]

27. The Hugo Chavez Hate Club won't like this.

nt

[Supersedeas]

37. Gitmo is a legacy that will haunt us decades into the future

[hamsterjill]

38. Sean Penn?

Last night on the Joy Behar show, Michael Moore indicated that Sean Penn had been instrumental in the release of these men. Has anyone heard this, or any further details of what Penn may have done?

Edited to add "never mind". I have now googled and educated myself. Thanks anyway.

[sabrina 1]

42. Shhhh, Chavez, Sean Penn, Cindy Sheehan all thrown UTB

by the left when it became clear they would not change their principles no matter who was in power.

Besides, we are not supposed to do things peacefully, we need excuses for humanitarian bombs and their interference probably erased a reason to use some of those democracy bombs. I'm sure the warmongers are not happy with them. They are itching to invade Iran.

[avaistheone1]

40. k&r