Don’t call it ransom!  No, no, no!  It was all just a coincidence that (via Jay Soloman and Carol E. Lee of the Wall Street Journal): The Obama administration secretly organized an airlift of $400 million worth of cash to Iran that coincided with the January release of four Americans detained in Tehran, according to U.S. and European officials and congressional staff briefed on the operation afterward. Wooden pallets stacked with euros, Swiss francs and other currencies were flown into Iran on an unmarked cargo plane, according to these officials. The U.S. procured the money from the central banks of the Netherlands and Switzerland, they said. The Iranians have no problem calling it ransom: U.S. officials also acknowledge that Iranian negotiators on the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to show they had gained something tangible. (snip) Iranian press reports have quoted senior Iranian defense officials describing the cash as a ransom...(Read Full Post)