Questions about the diplomat release

The Iraqi government says it released five detained Iranian diplomats yesterday because their case was the next in line for review -- and not because of U.S. pressure.

Deputy Interior Minister Major-General Hussein Kamal said U.S. officials transferred the men, accused by U.S. forces of arming Shi'ite Muslim militias at the height of Iraq's sectarian war, to the Iraqi government, which then turned them over to Iranian officials in Baghdad.

"There is nothing specific about the timing of their release. The Iraqi judiciary looked into their cases and the court decided to release them," Kamal, who oversaw the detainees' transfer, told Reuters.

The U.S. says the same thing; both governments are making a very public effort to get that message out. Makes you wonder why. I suspect we haven't heard the last of this story...