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jhand_us
XM + PC + XM-PCR + Timeshift
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
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Location: Chicago-land
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 Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:40 am Post subject: $1-20 million paid to hostage takers? |
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This is sad If Italy did pay off the hostage takers. Let's see, what can terrorists do with all this money? Oh ya, kill our troop, encourage more to blow up cars, buy more weapons, buy more support... and when they run out, heck - lets just take another hostage and ask for more!
| Quote: | Ransom Concern Clouds Return of Italian Hostages
ROME (Reuters) - National joy in Italy at the safe return of two aid workers held hostage in Iraq (news - web sites) for three weeks gave way in some quarters on Wednesday to concern that Rome had paid a big ransom for the women's freedom.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government was still refusing to comment publicly on whether any money had changed hands but most newspapers and even a leading figure in the ruling coalition spoke openly of a ransom of $1 million or more.
Leading newspaper Corriere della Sera said negotiators in Iraq on Sunday had accepted conditions, including a ransom, for the release of Simona Pari and Simona Torretta.
Most papers spoke of a $1 million ransom but Rome's Il Messaggero said as much as $20 million may have been paid.
Gustavo Selva, chairman of parliament's foreign affairs committee, said around $1 million had probably been paid: "The lives of the girls was the most important thing," Selva, a member of the National Alliance party, told France's RTL radio.
"In principle, we shouldn't give in to blackmail but this time we had to, although it's a dangerous path to take because, obviously, it could encourage others to take hostages, either for political reasons or for criminal reasons," he said.
A front-page editorial in the Rome daily La Repubblica said a "ransom was paid and that is nothing to be ashamed of."
Berlusconi said only that the government had to make "a very difficult choice."
Italians have a long history of paying money for the release of kidnapping victims at home, mostly members of wealthy families grabbed by crime gangs. Many Italians believe the two women may have been abducted purely for cash, not politics.
UNUSUAL ABDUCTION
The kidnapping of the "two Simonas" differed from those of other Westerners in Iraq in that the abductors showed no images of them throughout their captivity and did not force them to plead for political concessions before the cameras.
But while most Italians were simply thrilled the women said they had been treated "very well" during blindfold captivity, some commentators warned of the risks of buying off kidnappers.
Conservative newspaper Il Foglio condemned it: "They did honest humanitarian work and ended up being unwitting collection plates," it said in a comment headlined "Let's Not Celebrate."
"That is called ransom and it will fuel the arms trade and recruitment for the war against peace and democracy in that part of the world," Il Foglio said.
Freed on Tuesday and flown home as national heroes, they gave their first accounts of their ordeal to police: "We were always blindfolded and we never saw the faces of our captors," one of them was quoted as saying by a judicial source.
A police official who questioned the women said they were treated "very well" and that they "only sometimes feared for their lives."
The two were abducted at gunpoint from the Baghdad offices of their charity group, which helped schoolchildren, on Sept. 7 along with two Iraqi colleagues, who were also freed.
Italians had feared the women would suffer the same fate as other hostages, including Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, who was killed last month after Italy refused to withdraw its 2,700 troops from Iraq. |
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Farmer Fred
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:46 am Post subject: |
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I heard these kidnappers are not Islamic "insurgents" bent on driving the Crusaders out of Iraq, but plain old criminals looking for money.
I guess we've taught them well.
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theangrygerman
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Joined: 28 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:54 am Post subject: |
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| Farmer Fred wrote: | | I guess we've taught them well. |
Eight years of Clinton lying, cheating, obfuscating, pandering, falandering, not responding to terrorist acts (USS Cole - nigeria - WTC 1, etal), Madeline Albright sucking North Korean weezer, unchecked german and french arms sales to iraq, improper technology sales to china, illegal chinese political contributions, and the blue dress.
For once you might be right fartnut - they learned well - but estimated wrongly - Bush broke the mold carved by Clinton.
Just note that they did'nt extort the US - they got the green mail from italy.
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Farmer Fred
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Joined: 23 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 8:58 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Eight years of Clinton lying, cheating, obfuscating, pandering, falandering, not responding to terrorist acts (USS Cole - nigeria - WTC 1, etal), Madeline Albright sucking North Korean weezer, unchecked german and french arms sales to iraq, improper technology sales to china, illegal chinese political contributions, and the blue dress.
For once you might be right fartnut - they learned well - but estimated wrongly - Bush broke the mold carved by Clinton.
Just note that they did'nt extort the US - they got the green mail from italy.
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Funny, I thought these kidnappings started after "Mission Accomplished" happened? Am I wrong, jerker?
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jimbjimb
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:37 am Post subject: |
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You might be right on this Fred. In a country of 27 million, there's got to be at least 1 million hard core criminals that would sell their mother as a whore for a few bucks. And when it comes to the Islamists.. you could easily double that number.
I happen to think this war is right.. because sooner or later we would have had to deal with Saddam.. but if I were President, it might have been a little different. Today Iraq would be know as CRATER 24. |
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BigRighty
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Joined: 29 Sep 2004
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:46 am Post subject: |
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| jimbjimb wrote: | You might be right on this Fred. In a country of 27 million, there's got to be at least 1 million hard core criminals that would sell their mother as a whore for a few bucks. And when it comes to the Islamists.. you could easily double that number.
I happen to think this war is right.. because sooner or later we would have had to deal with Saddam.. but if I were President, it might have been a little different. Today Iraq would be know as CRATER 24. |
Right on jimbjimb !!!! - - Wonder how Saddam and his cronies would have liked to see this out of his palace window? 
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Farmer Fred
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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At least jimbjimb, err, jeff, err, BigRighty display that the faux concern for the Iraqis in operation "Iraqi Freedom" was all bullshit.
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jimbjimb
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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Fred, I'll admit that President Bush is much more moral and Christian than I. That's why I said Iraq is lucky I wasn't President (which would never happen) because I would have given Saddam one week to fess up.. or I would have made sure that country was incapable of producing..or even desiring to produce wmds (or the capability of wmds) for many generations to come. Yes, I would probably have taken out a million or two people and for sure the SUNNI Triangle and every saddam castle. But you know what.. the last time we nuked a country it turned out pretty good. Immediate surrender. The country became a democracy and an ally. I would like to see freedom for the Iraqis that want and deserve freedom.. but that whittles the number down substantially.
Actually, let me tell you my opinion of what would have been the correct road to freeing the world of terrorism. Within 2 weeks of 9/11, President Bush, Putin, the head of china, Tony Blair, John Howard hold a summit. In that summit they agree to a plan that would take these islamic radical bastards out of the equation. They then call together the heads of every muslim nation. And they lay this on them: You have ONE MONTH to either kill..or deliver every know terrorist group in your country. You know who they are. You know how they are funded. If you're afraid of them, we just need to know where they are. If you do this, life will be good. If you don't , you put your country in grave peril.. because after that point, when we identify the location of any terrorist,we will bomb a perimeter of at 100 miles killing every last son of bitch in that perimeter. (CRATER) . That includes your ministries, your palaces and your homes. Every time a terrorist act occurs, and we can identify the origin of that terrorist.. we will crater at will.
If we need too, we will eliminate the governments in your countries and divide the spoils.
Syria and Saudia Arabia and Jordan and Yemen and Iran know who these people are..and where they are. Facing the loss of everything, they might have reacted a little differently.
Further, since the Islamic religion is not a religion at all..but a satanic cult, I would not extend to them the same protections of a true religion.
sounds like a bunch of horseshit huh Fred? After President Bush is re elected, and should these bastards pull another 9/11.. you might be surprised at what happens.. now that Russia has had a taste... and China hates the fuk out of these bastards. |
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Farmer Fred
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Fred, I'll admit that President Bush is much more moral and Christian than I. |
If that were true, you'd have to be Satan.
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jimbjimb
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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No, I would say Satan more resembles the man who not only
condones abortion.. but champions it.. saying it should be made
more available.
Kerry is for abortion..but against the death penalty.
So, let's see.. that means in his mind its okay to kill anyone as
long as they are under 9 months old.
Frankly, I think abortion is between a woman and her God, but
one of the big reasons I'm against Kerry is I don't want MY
taxes used to fund an abortion here in the US.. or in MEXICO,
as he said he will re-instate the policy of Clinton which Bush
overturned when he came into office. |
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Farmer Fred
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Kerry is for abortion..but against the death penalty.
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You're lying, of course, as are all the dipshit Republicans who claim Kerry or anyone on this board is "for" abortions. But don't let that stop you.
You obviously can't see a difference between wanting someone to do something and letting them choose for themselves.
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Jeff Cobner
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Joined: 20 May 2003
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Location: Richmond, VA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2004 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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Italy is aiding terrorists, they should be our next target, BOOM!!!!!
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jhand_us
XM + PC + XM-PCR + Timeshift
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
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Location: Chicago-land
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:01 am Post subject: |
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OK guys, is this any surprise  .... thank you Italy  and the rest of the countries that negotiate and payoff the  terrorists!
This from Fox News this morning:
| Quote: | Al Jazeera: Ten New Hostages
Thursday, September 30, 2004
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Arab news network Al-Jazeera showed video Thursday of 10 new hostages seized in Iraq by militants.
Al-Jazeera said the 10 — six Iraqis, two Lebanese and two Indonesian women — were taken by The Islamic Army (search) in Iraq. The group has claimed responsibility for seizing two French journalists last month. |
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