On Saturday, CNN reported that American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been sentenced to eight years in an Iranian prison.

CNN details the sentence:

…five years for espionage — specifically “cooperating with the American intelligence service” — and three years for illegal entry, IRINN reported, quoting an “informed” judiciary source.

The third hiker, Sarah Shroud, was released on $500,000 bail in September 2010.

CBN News reports:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she is “deeply disappointed” with the sentence.

CBN also reported that the families of the hikers had hoped that the hikers would be released during the Islamic month of Ramadan, when pardons are often granted.

This must be heartbreaking for their families. The Iranian government has also stated that the case of Sarah Shroud is still considered open. Essentially a ransom was paid for her release. This situation illustrates the dangers of weak leadership in America. When the staff of the American Embassy was taken prisoner in Iran in 1979, the newspapers in America reminded us every day that there were hostages in Iran. Where are those newspaper articles now? These are Iranian hostages and America needs to be saying more than that they are ‘deeply disappointed.’  We need leadership in this country that will be strong enough to discourage foreign countries from kidnapping Americans who inadvertently cross an unmarked border.