On January 17, evidently in exchange for a large and secretive cash payment from Washington, Iran freed three American hostages. But only two days earlier, Shiite militiamen captured three U.S. contractors in Baghdad and subjected them to a month of horrific torture before releasing them. Max Boot, commenting on recently published interviews with the captives, notes that the two incidents were connected:

The Popular Mobilization Forces, the Shiite militia group of which these kidnappers were a part, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Iranian Quds Force. It is doubtful that the kidnappers could have held three Americans for a month without at least a tacit okay from the Iranian government—and probably would not have released them, either, without an okay from Tehran.

But we know nothing about why the men were held or why they were released. . . . Was a deal struck between Washington and Tehran or between Washington and Baghdad? It did not necessarily have to be a monetary deal—there could have been a quid pro quo of some kind. We simply don’t know. If Congress is going to probe the $400-million payment to Tehran, it should probe the contractors’ kidnapping as well, along with the more recent seizure of further dual-national Iranians to replace the ones that have been released.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.