The World
Crisis Ends With a 'Gift' From Tehran
The crisis over Iran's seizure of 15 British sailors and marines ended as unexpectedly as it began. A beaming Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that he was "pardoning" and freeing the crew as a "gift" to the British people, in honor of the Prophet Muhammad's recent birthday and the Easter holiday. They flew home a day later, business class aboard a commercial airliner. Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted he made "no deal" or "side agreements."
The crew-from the frigate HMS Cornwall-was captured March 23 during an antismuggling operation. One of the newly freed crew members, Royal Marine Capt. Chris Air, said, "We realized that had we resisted, there would have been a major fight, one we could not have won, with consequences that would have major strategic impacts." Iran claimed the crew was in its waters; Britain says it was in Iraq's territory. But the fluid boundary-the Shatt al-Arab waterway-separating the countries has long been in dispute.
It's unlikely that any of the 15-who were held in solitary confinement for much of their detention-will face disciplinary action for their coerced videotaped "confessions," since the British military tells its troops to cooperate if taken prisoner. "The big question," says military expert Bob Ayers, "is why were they conducting a boarding operation without adequate cover in contested waters?" It's doubtful, he says, that the Iranians would have attacked a crew boat shadowed by, say, a heavily armed helicopter. It's a question requiring a quick answer. For now, the Royal Navy has suspended antismuggling operations in those dangerous seas.
Counting Down to a Korean Deadline
Instead of getting ready to affirm the first tangible progress toward denuclearizing North Korea-a freeze of its Yongbyon nuclear reactor complex-Bush administration officials last week were decamped in Beijing to talk about money. They reported progress late last week in untangling a thicket of legal and logistical issues blocking the transfer of $25 million still stuck in about 50 accounts in a Macao bank because of alleged links to money laundering. Without the transfer, North Korea is refusing to resume negotiations or suspend Yongbyon operations-a key, initial step in a February 13 agreement. That means that the 60-day deadline (April 14) for a Yongbyon shutdown might be missed-a poor portent for the future.
U.S. negotiator Chris Hill has consistently warned against slippage in meeting the agreement's deadlines. "You don't want the whole thing to have a rubbery quality," explains a State Department official. However, hawkish critics are hoping that Bush will have to repudiate the agreement if the North won't freeze nuclear work on schedule. "The February 13 agreement let North Korea out of the corner it had put itself into," charged former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. "I think this deal will inevitably fail."
Oh, the Places You'll Go...
Two examples of why it can be a bad idea to let lawmakers out for recess:
Example No. 1. Sen. John McCain on a visit to Iraq goes to Shorja market, one of Baghdad's largest, to show how much safer the city has become. Undercutting his point: He wears a bulletproof vest, is protected by more than 100 soldiers, and is transported in an armored convoy with attack helicopters overhead. After he leaves, merchants say their business is bad and the threat of attacks is high.
Example No. 2. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leading a bipartisan delegation through Mideast capitals, paid a call on Syria's dictator, Bashar Assad. President Bush fumed, though three House Republicans had just done the same without criticism. The Syrians were thrilled after getting snubbed by the administration for their support of Iran and Hezbollah, as well as for failing to prevent insurgents from crossing into Iraq. Pelosi said she was carrying a message from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that Israel was ready to resume long-dormant peace talks with Damascus; Olmert's office quickly issued a statement saying there was no policy change. Assad expressed a willingness to have talks, Pelosi reported, although whether his remarks added anything new was unclear.
Some Foreigners Are Not Welcome
In Pakistan's lawless borderlands, pro-government tribesmen are fighting foreign militants, mostly from Uzbekistan, allegedly linked to al Qaeda. Reports vary, but as many as 170 militants and 75 tribesmen have been killed during two weeks of heavy clashes in South Waziristan. Some militants are said to have fled to North Waziristan, others across the border into Afghanistan, where U.S. and Afghan forces are stationed.
Sources say the "tribal uprising" has been reinforced by the Pakistani Army, and officials say the fighting shows that President Pervez Musharraf is living up to his promises to crack down on terrorists' refuges. However, local sources say the fighting has been directed only against Uzbek militants, not Arab extremists and Taliban supporters who also use the region as a staging ground for attacks into Afghanistan.
With Thomas Omestad, Thomas K. Grose in Britain, Aamir Latif in Pakistan and Associated Press
This story appears in the April 16, 2007 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.