Politics Hostages in Iraq

ashqua

Cadet
I wanted to start a thread for all those hostages who are held in Iraq by several violent groups.

A French journalist and her Iraqi driver were kidnapped, exactly 100 days ago. And a few weeks ago, three other reports were kidnapped in Iraq.

It's just something I want to do so we won't forget them or the hell they are in!!
They went there to inform us, to show us the living hell Iraqis ppl are in. They didn't want to write papers about the situation in Iraq based on what the coalition says. They wanted to do their job by publishing papers based on what they had seen and heard.

They are in Iraq for us, so we can't forget them even if it's been 100 days!

I know that they are hundreds ppl who are held against their will in Iraq not only reporters so if you know some of them then post something about them. I know it's a small thing I'm doing by starting this thread but even if it's a small thing it still matters.
 
U.S. Hostage in Iraq Appeals for Life on Video-TV

Apr 13, 2005 — DUBAI (Reuters) - An American contractor taken hostage in Iraq has urged the U.S. government to negotiate with his captors to save his life, according to a video broadcast by Al Jazeera television on Wednesday.

The video showed the man, named by the U.S. embassy in Baghdad as Jeffrey Ake from Indiana, holding up his passport as armed and masked insurgents stood at his side.

Ake was seized from the site of a reconstruction project near Baghdad on Monday. It is not known who he was working for.

Al Jazeera said the hostage "urged the U.S. administration to open a dialogue with the Iraqi resistance … to save his life."

He also called on U.S. forces to swiftly withdraw from Iraq, the Arabic television channel said.

Dressed in a light shirt, Ake looked nervous on the video, which showed him behind a desk and reading from a statement.

The group behind the kidnapping was not named and no flag or identifying banner was shown, as has been common in several previous tapes of hostages.

More than 150 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq in the past year, either by Muslim militant groups seeking to drive out foreign troops or criminal gangs demanding ransom. About a third of those kidnapped have been killed.

A French journalist, Florence Aubenas, who was kidnapped in January, is still being held by militants, as are three Romanian journalists abducted last month.

Over the past year, Iraqi officials estimate that around 5,000 Iraqis have been kidnapped, most of them by criminal gangs looking to profit from ransoms.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=666216
 
And lets be very pleased as two journalists from the Telegraph have been found not guilty in Zimbabwe today of working without accreditatio so they'll be coming home too.
 
noggi16 said:
And lets be very pleased as two journalists from the Telegraph have been found not guilty in Zimbabwe today of working without accreditatio so they'll be coming home too.
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I know, I have read something about them.
I'm sure their family must be happy to have them coming home soon.

Just a question : Do you think the governments should accept what the kidnappers want? In Iraq for example, they ask to some countries to withdraw their troops?
I know a country did it to save a hostage, but do you think those countries did a good thing by accepting their requests?
 
I'd like to post some pictures about Florence Aubenas.
Pictures coming from the video her kidnappers sent.
Believe me those pictures aren't looking good, not at all :(

medium_aubenas_1er_mars_2_.2.jpg


medium_aubenas_1er_mars.2.jpg


But in France the video wasn't showed on TV. The French channels refuse to air videos made by terrorists, since most of them show ppl begging their governments to save their lives.
Just a thing, a few months ago 2 other French reporters were kidnapped and realized a few months later. Just a few days before Christmas ^_^

N-FranceOtagesIrak.jpg
 
Just a question : Do you think the governments should accept what the kidnappers want? In Iraq for example, they ask to some countries to withdraw their troops?
I know a country did it to save a hostage, but do you think those countries did a good thing by accepting their requests?
i had the same question in mind. if a country for example will give in to the terrorists' demands.. does it mean that they lost? if they do not give in, the consequences will be the lives of the hostages.. so what now? should they give in or not give in... i for one, live in a country who gave in to their demands. the people's reactions where split. some supported the president's decision and even praised her for her heroic and merciful act, some despised her for her impulsive decision.
 
It just makes me feel so sick to think that governments believe that if they ignore it, these people will dissapear. These are human beings, trapped in something they don't deserve to be caught up in, and we act indifferent! News like this is taken out of the spotlight to 'protect' us, all it does is protect our own government. As for us, if stuff like this is happening, even though it is distressing, I'd prefer to know it than to be happy in ignorance.
 
Just a question : Do you think the governments should accept what the kidnappers want? In Iraq for example, they ask to some countries to withdraw their troops?
I know a country did it to save a hostage, but do you think those countries did a good thing by accepting their requests?
as sad as it is that hostages have been taken in countries like Iraq, when a country negotiates with terrorists, it sets an extremely dangerous precedent. saving the lives a few that way can endanger many more lives in the future.
 
as sad as it is that hostages have been taken in countries like Iraq, when a country negotiates with terrorists, it sets an extremely dangerous precedent. saving the lives a few that way can endanger many more lives in the future.


Exactly. When you start negotiating with terrorists, where to draw the line? Sadly these people knew the risks and this was one of the main risks that came with travelling into Iraq. It's a terrible situation, but we can't negotiate with these people.
 
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