Target Centermass

Day: October 4, 2004

  • Hostage ‘Sold to Less Brutal Gang’

    The hopes for a safe return for Ken Bigley, the British hostage held by terrorists in Iraq, were bouyed by today’s news.

    Hopes for Ken Bigley’s freedom rose yesterday after it was claimed he had been ‘sold’ to a less brutal gang of kidnappers.

    The Iraq hostage’s brother believes he is now being held by the same group who released two Italian women aid workers last week.

    And Paul Bigley says Ken could also come home alive – if a ransom is paid.

    Paul said that if Ken had been moved, ‘it can only be a positive thing’. He added: ‘I would much rather deal with people talking money than people holding a government to ransom.

    ‘It makes the whole scenario a little easier. Funds can always be found, somehow.’

    Yeah, okay, hopes rose.

    For the life of one guy.

    Sure, I understand the desire of the family to have their loved one back safe. What I do not understand is how people do not realize the number of lives they are willing to barter away with their willingness to finance future terrorism.

    How tragic the state of the world that people find hope when a man is “‘sold’ to a less brutal gang of kidnappers.” How disgusting it is to see the inability of some to recognize the vicious barbarity of the Islamist danger.

    Historically, apparently it’s a good thing the Nazis turned to aerial bombing before kidnapping. But wait, those were other days, days when an obvious enemy was recognized by most and not downplayed by many for short-term political gain.

    Despite this story and the adversity caused by Bigley’s peril, I still have faith in the Brits to do what’s right in the long term. I just worry they may stretch out that long term.

  • Poland May Withdraw From Iraq in 2005

    There are conflicting reports about the future commitment of Poland to the Iraqi coalitions, with the latest saying it was still up in the air.

    [Australian Foreign] Minister Alexander Downer has played down reports that Poland is considering withdrawing its troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

    President Aleksander Kwasniewski said there had been no final decision on when to withdraw forces, but said Warsaw was considering the late 2005 deadline with the hopes that January elections in Iraq would bring stability to the country.

    Mr Downer said today Poland’s proposed withdrawal date was a long way away and a lot of progress would have been made by then.

    He said Poland’s consideration of a late-2005 pull out would not have any impact on troop numbers in the region.

    “It doesn’t mean very much. It’s a very long way away now,” Mr Downer said in Adelaide.

    Another recent report takes the same stance.

    Alexander Kwasniewski, the Polish president, today said the country had set no date for withdrawing its troops from Iraq despite comments from the defence minister that they should leave by the end of 2005.

    He told reporters it might be possible “to finish our mission” by then, but stressed that discussions on Poland’s role in Iraq were continuing.

    The defence minister, Jerzy Szmajdzinski, told the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper in an interview published today that the troop withdrawal should coincide with the expiry, at the end of 2005, of a UN security council resolution endorsing Iraq’s current interim government.

    So far 17 Poles have died in Iraq and opinion polls show nearly 75% of the public opposing troop deployment there. An opposition party, the Polish Peasants’ party, has launched a petition seeking an immediate withdrawal.

    The prime minister, Marek Belka, said he had not authorised Mr Szmajdzinski to make such a statement, which departed from Warsaw’s long-standing position that troops would remain in Iraq for “as long as it takes” to complete their mission.

    Mr Szmajdzinski argued that two and a half years in Iraq would be “enough” for a former Warsaw Pact army still “reaching new capabilities and introducing new equipment”, but later said his remarks were his personal opinion and not the official position of the government.

    The withdrawal of the Polish troops would not be catastrophic for the coalition helping Iraq, but it would be a big loss. I’m not at all happy with such a potentially short-sighted early declaration of disengagement and the wrong signals it may send, but I have nothing but appreciation for the noble work to date of the valiant Polish troops and their military leadership. These are truly our allies.

  • Reciprocity IV

    Just taking a moment to thank those bloggers who have recently blogrolled or linked to Target Centermass:

    Thanks, y’all.

    A special appreciation goes to elgato at The Swanky Conservative and a recent addition to the team over at Sgt. Stryker’s Daily Briefing. I am honored to be added to The Swanky Conservative’s blog links, as it was one of the three blogs that chiefly inspired me to begin this endeavor. Those three will always sit at the top of my blogroll.