No doubt there is rejoicing over the return (with Bill Clinton) this morning to the United States of the two journalists captured by North Korea and sentenced to years of hard labor. The release of a journalist by Iran earlier this summer was also good work (probably also by Hillary Clinton's team at the State Department). Now I notice three wandering Americans are in custody in Iran for crossing the border from Kurdisan in spite of warnings from local Kurdish officials.What should we make of these?Were the three journalists careless in keeping on eye on their own security? The three, all American citizens, were from Iran in the one case, and Southeast Asia in the other two. Does this make them objects of suspicion greater than if they were white Americans? than if they were men? The three "tourists" captured by Iran? Provocateurs? CIA? Just dumb?These events seem to needlessly complicate our foreign policy as well as raise old questions about American spying by "journalists" and "tourists." What can or should be done to discourage these junkets and/or foolhardy behaviors? Or are my suspicions out of place?UPDATE: Nicholas Kristoff, long a proponent of engagement with North Korea, has changed his mind; he claims there is mounting evidence that it is exporting nuclear technology to Myanmar (aka Burma). The headline:"Rethinking North Korea, With Sticks" http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/opinion/06kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinionUpdate 2: Martha Raddatz of ABC reports that the "hikers" have been moved to Teheran. Scroll down to read the comments! http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/08/hikers-who-crossed-into-iran-have-been-moved-to-tehran.html