Let's go hiking!

Oh dear! Those big, bad, paranoid, bullying Iranians arrested three sweet, innocent American hikers who seem to have lost their way and unintentionally accidentally crossed into Iran. You can read MSNBC's latest account of it here. . Now I don't know about you, but I (as well as the Iranians) am just a tad bit skeptical of the American version of the story. First of all, two of our hikers just happen to be journalists. Second, a least one of them, Shane Bauer, is fluent in Arabic. Third. our trekking trio are described as "seasoned travelers". And lastly, a fourth sweet, innocent American hiker fortuitously got sick and skipped the excursion, but stayed in contact (presumably by cell phone) with our three wandering nomads. . Uh uh. I'm not buying this. I'm expected to believe the morning conversation went something like this : . "Hey! Let's go hiking today!" "Sounds great. It's not like there's any danger for three Americans ambling around in northern Iraq." "Cool! Where should we go?" "How about the not-clearly-marked border with Iran?" "Good idea! But what if we innocently accidentally stray into Iran? How will we know?" "That's easy! I'm fluent in Arabic, but can't speak a word of Farsi. So we'll just keep walking until armed guards stop us. If I can't understand them, we know we've made it to Iran." "You're so clever! But our companion is ill and has to skip the hike." "No problem! We'll just constantly stay in touch with him, and tell him what he's missing." . The Spanish have a phrase for this : El Toro Poopoo. The only question is - was this a journalistic adventure into the Kurdish section of Iran gone wrong? Or, as the Iranians have hinted, is it something more sinister and clandestine? . P.S. The pic above is of an area in Iraq close to where this incursion took place. Other than trees growing along the river, this isn't exactly a picturesque hiker's paradise.