Target Centermass

Day: September 28, 2004

  • Female Italian Captives Freed, Possibly Ransomed

    It seems the story of the deaths of two Simonas was greatly exaggerated. The pair of Italian women, held hostage since Sept. 7, are now home free.

    Two Italian women aid workers held hostage in Iraq for three weeks have returned home to cheers and tears, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leading the welcome party at Rome’s Ciampino airport.

    Simona Pari and Simona Torretta were freed by their Iraqi captors earlier on Tuesday and were immediately whisked by plane back to Italy, where they have unwittingly become national heroines thanks to their ordeal.

    News of their release sparked scenes of joy across the country, while Italian and world leaders breathed a sigh of relief that the crisis had ended without bloodshed.

    When the women were first seized, I posted a handful of possible outcomes, including the following:

    The Italian government may have to make some hard choices – bail out of the war, deal with the scumbags, or stand firm and risk the lives of women, possibly leading to an upheaval on the home front….

    I then concluded that there may end up being no winners and a “quick release is the only way to prevent losses for all involved.”

    Well, it seems that the Italian government did end up having to face those hard choices and, according to the Reuters article, apparently decided on dealing with the Islamist bastards.

    A Kuwaiti daily said earlier on Tuesday the women’s captors had agreed to free them for a $1 million (550,000 pounds) ransom.

    An Italian political source told Reuters a ransom was paid but it was less than $1 million. Berlusconi himself made no mention of a ransom when he announced the release of the two women to parliament.

    He said the secret services had located their whereabouts earlier this week, but rather than risk using violence to secure their release, the Italian government had preferred to negotiate.

    Italy bought temporary peace at home and secured a far better deal than the Philippines managed in their $6 million wimp-out. One has to ask, though, at what future price? How many deaths can be financed with this ransom?

    Italy is still in the game, but they just handed a lot of chips to the bad guys playing by a different, ruthless set of rules.

  • Abducted CNN Producer Released

    Let me take a moment to pat my own back. Last night, after CNN producer Riad Ali was kidnapped by Palestinian bandits, I posted the following:

    First, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have to disavow involvement and, if it turns out they have any influence on these bandits, will work to ensure a safe and quick release. They have to avoid biting the hand that feeds them which, in this case, is a friendly international media.

    Today, CNN is reporting that Ali has been set free by his captors.

    CNN producer Riad Ali was released Tuesday, almost 24 hours after he was abducted by armed gunmen, and is now in the custody of Palestinian police.

    ….

    Shortly before his release, a videotape surfaced in which Ali explained he was being held by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Arafat’s Fatah movement.

    I called it, but it seemed pretty obvious, to be honest.

  • A Worthy Request of Bloggers

    Greyhawk has gone to war. Now, Mrs. Greyhawk has asked a favor

    I call to my fellow bloggers to do what the mainstream media refuse to do, and that is to report the truth about the success of rebuiling Iraq.

    ….

    You know, my husband is over there and seeing that he may be limited to what he can read, I sure don’t want him to read something that makes him feel his efforts are in vain.

    And what of the Iraqi People? If all they see and read focuses almost exclusively on the violence without reports of the monumental progresses being made, what will they think? How will they have the courage to fight the insurgents (terrorist) if they have no hope. If you watch the satellite channels from Arab countries you would imagine there’s no rebuilding going on at all. This is encouraging terrorists and demoralizing those who supported democracy.

    Where does the Blogshere come in? A place to start would be this blog “Chrenkoff“, a Polish Australian blogger who compiles a periodic roundup of “good news from Iraq.”
    Link him, better yet post good news you find on your blog as often as possible, photos a plus. Our soldiers lives and the state of Iraq could depend on it.

    Target Centermass is young and barely visited, but I will do what I can for this good cause. At least I’ll try, which is what our country has asked of Greyhawk (on a vastly different scale, of course). I plan on revising my blogroll in the next day or two, and Chrenkoff is among those to be added.