In an article written for the DC edition of Examiner.com, Asia Chronicle Editor and Korea expert Van Jackson makes the case that the Americans currently held in Iran will not be released until diplomatic gestures commensurate with those demonstrated toward North Korea occur.
Entitled "Iran takes chapter out of North Korea's playbook", Mr. Jackson accurately suggested that a symbolic gesture like former President Clinton's visit to North Korea would be required to secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two American journalists held in North Korea. In a Wisconsin Public Radio interview nearly two months ago, Mr. Jackson also predicted that a symbolic visit from a high stature representative would be the only way to secure the release of Lee and Ling.
Looking forward, Mr. Jackson argues that the geopolitical context that the United States faces with Iran is so similar to that of North Korea that Iran will more than likely refuse to release the detained American citizens unless it receives symbolic gestures comparable to that which North Korea received today.
Mr. Jackson warns that "former President Clinton's success in negotiating the release of Lee and Ling should be celebrated but all must remember that Iran has yet to receive such grand gestures, and Iran holds three Americans, not two." The stakes are even higher in Iran, he says.
Van Jackson's Examiner.com article: http://www.examiner.com/
