"2 US hikers freed from Iran after 2 years say, ‘We were held because of our nationality’"

     This article describes how two 29 year-old men, Joshua Fattal and Shane Bauer were freed from an Iranian prison on a $1 million bail after supposedly illegally crossing the border from Iraq.  I felt bad for these men as it seems they meant no harm whatsoever to Iran but were merely hiking.  Despite that, it does appear a bit odd that Americans would be hiking in the middle east.  Although, the three of them (there was a girl with them, Sarah Shourd, but she was released a year ago) were hiking "in Iraq's relatively peaceful Kurdish region along the Iran-Iraq border when Iranian guards detained them".  Apparently, they had unknowingly wandered into Iran after taking a wrong turn.
  The author does an excellent job in convincing the reader that the Iranians had no right in doing such a thing.  He also suggest that the hikers may not have even been in Iraq in the first place and the whole ordeal was caused by the fact that the hikers were American.  The author included influential quotes from the two men highlighting this fact.  For example, "From the very start, the only reason we have been held hostage is because we are American; Iran has always tied our case to its political disputes with the U.S."  The authors use of rhetoric is significant as it questions the truth, convinces the reader, and glorifies America.