The sweet? The two Italian women held hostage in Iraq have been released unharmed.
The sour? The women were released because over $1 million in ransom funds were paid to the terrorists.
Forget that they will now use these monies to purchase weapons and further their murderous cause. That is part of the "sour" - but really only the minor part.
The truly bitter part is that an action like paying ransom money teaches the terrorists a valuable lesson: kidnapping hostages and threatening their lives pays handsomely.
Am I saying that I wished that these women had been killed rather than released? Absolutely not.
But I am saying that the world must be resolute. We cannot give in to the demands of those who wish to destroy the rest of us. We cannot send the message that their evil acts will be met with fear and capitulation.
Unfortunately, that was exactly the message that was just sent.
(Hat tip: Little Green Footballs)
It is decisions like this, ransom/no ransom, that government officials are supposed to be able to make. Unfortunately resoluteness is not a common characteristic in politicians.
Posted by: Bill | Wednesday, September 29, 2004 at 03:08 PM