Two Captured Iranian Officials Released by Iraq--That'll Show Them!

Iraq has released two high-level Iranian military leaders who had been captured with an Iraqi Shi'ite militia leader last week and sent them back to Iran.

According to a Washington Post article the two men

. . .were found in possession of detailed weapons lists, documents pertaining to shipments of weapons into Iraq, organizational charts, telephone records and maps, among other sensitive intelligence information.

One of the commanders, identified by officials simply as Chizari, was the third-highest-ranking official of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' al-Quds Brigade, the unit most active in aiding, arming and training groups outside Iran, including Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, U.S. officials said. The other commander was described as equally significant to Iran's support of foreign militaries but not as high-ranking.

In what has to be the second biggest lie of the day, Sami al-Askari, a member of parliament and a close adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, is quoted as saying,

The story the Americans said is not true. They said these were military men with diplomatic status. But they failed to prove anything.

The biggest lie of the day, however, and the Grand Prize for empty rhetoric belongs to a "U.S. official" who, for obvious reasons, requested anonymity. According to the Post,

Despite their frustration at the release of the Iranians, U.S. officials said a strong message has been sent to Iran that its operatives will be tracked down and that it will be held accountable for its activities in Iraq.

"Iranians have been pushing the envelope in Iraq and elsewhere, and it's a good thing they learn there are consequences," a U.S. official said, on condition of anonymity.

Yep, that'll show those Iranian Ayatollah's a thing or two and set them back on their heels quaking in fear! Sure.