Reza AslanVerified account

Ransom = Money paid BEFORE hostages are released. Smart Negotiation = Money withheld until AFTER required actions are completed.

Releasing it when we did produced an outcome. We offered something (an act) in exchange for release. Hence: ransom.

@djrothkopf actually, yes it is, especially considering they had no intention of returning it without the prisoner release.

@djrothkopf it is more like hostages for money..use your head if you want to be honest..the hostages became ranson for the money

.@rezaaslan its as close to blackmail as you can get......

you are using a potential technicality to obfuscate an obvious reality, and that is despicable

If anything it is ransom, if you consider it more the other way around - we said we would return this but really one more thing!

how do the Iranians see it? How does the Iranian government portray it to the people of Iran?

Is it also fair to call them hostages? Would they have been released at the end of their prison terms, or is that unrealistic?

.@rezaaslan @jricole Agree, but GOP was always going to call it "ransom" because that's how they roll.

St. Ronnie did the same thing, but with TOW missiles.

@jricole @djrothkopf Not to mention normal Americans are like "Hell ya we got somethin for that $$"

@djrothkopf Holding it back seems to contradict the 'have to' part, not that I disagree with you in principle.

@djrothkopf If it was ransom, wouldn't they have had to pay up BEFORE the release?

@djrothk lol. Apologists.

@djrothkopf So we say you know that $1.5B I have of yours. I will give some back if you do something for me. Called negotiating!