I completely understand the idea of a hiking vacation.
I also understand the need to promote a certain amount of tourism for Iraq.
But really, just how pig ignorant do you have to be to want to take an unarmed hiking vacation on the edge of a war zone in an area that runs along the border of Iran?
Shon Meckfessel, a University of Washington graduate student traveling in northern Iraq, didn’t go on an ill-fated hiking trip because he had a cold — a twist of fate that prevented him from mistakenly wandering into Iran where three companions reportedly are detained.
Meckfessel’s companions Friday afternoon sent him a text message saying they had crossed the border into Iran and were surrounded by Iranian soldiers.
One of the missing Americans has been identified as Joshua Fattal, of Cottage Grove, Ore. The two other captured Americans are Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd, both from the San Francisco Bay Area, according to media reports.
The seizure of the Americans comes at a time of tensions between the United States and Iran over the Islamic Republic’s controversial recent election and its role in the Iraq conflict. The United States and other Western countries also have had long-standing concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its hostility against Israel.
The Swiss Embassy in Tehran was working Sunday to learn more about the Americans’ fate through its contacts with the Iranian Foreign Ministry, spokeswoman Nadine Olivieri said. Switzerland has represented U.S. interests in Iran since American diplomats were taken hostage at the embassy in Tehran 30 years ago.
When your hiking trip involves negotiations through the Swiss Embassy, you are suffering from “Epic Vacation Fail”.
