The story provides just enough information and sourcing to not be too bad.

Hard to keep straight which group of hostages is which, and who took who. The story would have been stronger if the author had concentrated solely on the current Bush issue and kept dear old dad out of it.

Pretty good coverage. It parrots bush-speak a bit too much without identifying errors and misleading statements. The claim that other penalties "remain in effect" was given the lie within a day when George said a full pardon was still a possibility. Bush commuted jail when that was due, he will pardon Libby if Libby's appeal fails. The is a bald-faced political atrocity to keep Libby from squeeling on the administration regarding the treason of outing a covert agent. The story does not mention that sentences are usually only commuted after time is served or the witness cooperates with the prosecution.

I am submitting this story to comment on its casual, and dangerous, rewriting of history, rather than on the Libby sentence. I am astounded that an AP editor did not correct the error of implying that the American Hostages in Iran were not freed until the Reagan Administration started arming the Iranians. The description of the Iran Contra affair makes it sound as if it were a wonderful enterprise, freeing American hostages in Iran while fighting communism in Central America. However, the American hostages in Iran had been freed on the day power was transferred from Carter to Reagan, NOT during the Reagan presidency. Of course, some have suggested that to help Reagan get elected George H. W. Bush cut a deal with the ... More »

It seemed factual without use of any trigger words for right or left. Quotes from many diverse sources and points of view.

I agree with your comments, but to be fair, the hostages the article is referring to are the hostages taken by Hezbollah in Lebanon during their civil war and not the Iranian hostages. It is not clear from the text. There, in fact, is no reference to where the hostages were held, or when. This is sloppy, but my impression is that it doesn't go beyond that. Overall, there is nothing in this article that gives more than a cursory understanding of this issue and why it's important...just the sound bites.