Often the only hope for an American rotting away in some Third World dungeon is that the president of the United States demands his freedom.
Right now, too many Americans find themselves in this predicament. The most recent addition to this sorry list is Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Korean War vet who was removed from a plane leaving Pyongyang and forced to confess to alleged war crimes. Merrill joins another involuntary guest of the Communist regime, Kenneth Bae, a missionary whose “crime” seems to be helping refugees flee the Korean gulag.
Alas, these men are by no means unique. In Cuba, Alan Gross, a subcontractor for the State Department, languishes in prison for trying to help the local Jewish community hook up to the Internet. In Pakistan, the doctor who helped us deliver justice to Osama bin Laden, Dr. Shakil Afridi, faces new trumped-up charges ranging from murder to sexual harassment as he rots in prison.
Meanwhile, in Iran, authorities hold a former FBI agent, Robert Levinson, as well as an Iranian-born American pastor, Saeed Abedini, and former US Marine Amir Hekmati, who says he was coerced into confessing he was a spy for the CIA.
What makes the continued detention of all these Americans so outrageous is that President Obama has proved he can get people released when he wants.
As part of his effort to get Tehran to sign on to his nuclear deal, America returned a number of Iranians, including a scientist arrested while trying to secure equipment for Iran’s nuclear-weapons program. In return for this, Iran released three American hikers who had inadvertently crossed into Iran.
Even a child can see this is a losing proposition for a free society. By his actions, Obama only gives these regimes more incentive to grab one of our people when they think they can get something in exchange. Instead of pleading for the release of our people, the United States ought to be demanding it — and making sure that enemies who molest an American citizen abroad pay a high price.