>when he previously scoffed at the suggestion the money was
>ransom. Bc now he's going to have to walk that back a bit. He
>has some egg on his face, IMO.

I'm not saying YOU are - I'm saying people who are calling it a QUID PRO QUO or ransom are.

A ransom is giving something up that you would not have been doing in exchange for something from someone that they would not otherwise do - like release a prisoner.

So here's how that scenario works:
1)They take a prisoner
2)They demand we give them something (money, other things) to return them.
3)We give them the money (or do a thing) first.
4)Then they release the prisoner.

That's not what happened here.

We *have* to give them back over a billion dollars. We kept money that they had paid us for arms in the 1970's so we owe them the money.

We gave *some of it* to them AFTER they honored some agreements with us - but we'd have given it back anyway ,although the date it would have been given back may have been different.

The obtuse and/or stupid AND over political are making hay over this.


I'm sure it will be the biggest scandal in the world -- until 1 day after the November election.