The imminent release of 15 British sailors and marines by Iran is great news by anyone’s standards, and nothing more can be said about it except for the fact that the whole experience, from beginning to end, was, well, a bit bizarre.
Outside of the British media, the coverage seems muted, if not ignored altogether. The Bush Administration said little, and Congress, it seems, did not think it merited a debate at all.
The question to ask, of course: whether or not there was a quid pro quo? There has been mention of an Iranian diplomat finally being allowed to go home; and then there’s finally some movement on the five Iranians being held by the U.S. military in Iraq.
Honestly, who knows how these things work. At some level, there is no clear delineation between friend and foe; and relations are determined by specific circumstances, not ideology, which shift like the sands of the Middle East.
UPDATE: The Counterterrorism Blog has grouped some of their posts about the subject here. Well worth the read.
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