This deal leads to war

Pastor Saeed Abedini, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, and former Marine Corps Sgt. Amir Hekmati represent the essence of what makes America American — yet today all three are unjustly imprisoned in Iran.

That these individuals languish in jail while their captors repeatedly dine with America’s secretary of state is of course repugnant. But such commentary would be rejected as short-sighted by the defenders of the Obama administration’s negotiations with Tehran. They would no doubt tell us to look at the bigger picture and approach international diplomacy with the detached realism that necessitates sacrificing a few for the many.