So news of Jill Carrolls release is now official and spreading. I’m very thankful to God, as many are, that she has been released and can be with her family once again. Many thoughts are floating through my mind though. Primarily why the group all of a sudden decided to release her. Obviously it was not because of appeals from her family or from politicians otherwise she would’ve been free long ago.
The lack of US “involvement” I guess would be right word, seems a bit odd as well. Especially because of the hostages that were freed a few days ago.
The head scarf has also roused my curiosity. I don’t know much, if at all anything, more about Jill Carroll other than what has been printed in the media in the past few months.
Lastly, I’m wondering how she made into the building without being dropped off, and if that was the case why these people who were responsible were not caught, or at least chased after since they were obviously in the “area”.
Just flying thoughts I suppose. For now, suffice to say, I’m more thankful than anything else. I pray this won’t happen again but I’m doubting that it won’t.
Yes, it is very good news. 🙂
I don’t want to speculate too much about events surrounding her release. We simply don’t know what occurred to trigger the release, what the conditions were, etc. I do, however, want to respond to a few of the comments you made.
It is interesting that the release comes so soon after the discovery of the ‘Christian’ ‘Peacemakers’. I can’t help but wonder if there is some connection here. You mention the ‘lack of US involvement.’ I wouldn’t necessarily be so sure. It is possible that if there is a link between these kidnappings, pressure was mounting on her abductors to do something with her. US military officials did seem to indicate when they found the Peacemakers that they were close to finding some other unidentified hostage. Maybe, if US forces had tentatively identified the individuals responsible for holding Carroll but did not know the actual location they were holding her at, a deal not to pursue her abductors in return for her safe release was negotiated. We don’t know. We may not know the full details for years to come.
In any event, the peaceful release of a hostage is always preferable to the hostage’s death at the hands of his or her abductors or the need for a violent and dangerous assault to free a hostage. With a bad situation such as this, the voluntary and peaceful release of a hostage is the best of all possible scenarios.
“The head scarf has also roused my curiosity.”
What about it aroused your curiosity, Nas? Is it the fact that she was wearing one or was there something unusual about its design, etc? Carroll used to work as a correspondant for a Middle Eastern newspaper (actually Jordan, if I’m not mistaken). I don’t find anything particularly unusual about her dressing this way. She probably knows that dressing like this is part of what constitutes respectability in many Arab circles. Is it something about the particular head scarf that interests you?
samaritan, i thought i read in the article that US forces were not involved. I was refering to the specific quote of “”No U.S. person entered into any arrangements with anyone. By ‘U.S. person’ I mean the United States mission,””
yes the voluntary release is preferable, but not likely given the past record.
what aroused my curiosity was wondering if she was Muslim. yes some reporters might wear it out of respect to the culture but usually they wear it loose, revealing hair, which sends the signal that they are not Muslim but respectful of the culture and the people of the land. suffice to say i have never seen any female reporter wear it in iraq so it made me wonder. but that’s just me and my curiosity. 😀
these were just random thoughts I suppose. the important conclusion is that she is (thank you God) safe and sound now.
but i do hope they find these people. maybe even try them in an Islamic court.
samaritan, i thought i read in the article that US forces were not involved. I was refering to the specific quote of â??â?ÂNo U.S. person entered into any arrangements with anyone. By â??U.S. personâ?? I mean the United States mission,â?”
Um, Nas, they always say that. Italy doesn’t pay money to have its hostages released – if you believe their official story, at least. The United States doesn’t negotiate any terms or conditions with terrorists – if you believe the US government’s official story, at least. In reality, in secret communication and discussion with terrorists, things are not as clear cut. I have a relative in the FBI who works extensively on counterterrorism and security related issues internationally . . . things are often more complicated and interesting behind the scenes.
The truth is that while the United States wouldn’t pay a ransom of any sort to have a hostage released (unlike some European and Arab countries), I don’t necessarily believe that they would put off negotiating for the safe release of a hostage in a foreign country if they believed they had something on the terrorists – like their identities. I don’t think the US government would ever officially admit to such a thing, however. Unoffically the true story, if there is any hidden story, may gradually come to public light in years to come.
Of course, all this talk of possible US government/terrorist negotiations is just speculation. We simply don’t know what the motives of the terrorists were.
samaritan, yes that’s possible; in order to not contradict the whole “we dont negotiate with terrorists” thing.
the same question came to me when Mahmoud, the kidnapped Jordanian driver, was released. the only official word was that there were “efforts”.
Sadly, on the same day as this great news emerges about Jill Carroll, we get word of another tragedy that has claimed at least 48 lives so far:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060331/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bahrain_ship
I hope we will keep the families of these victims, who are mix of native Bahrainis, other Arab nationalities and people from outside the region, in our hearts and minds.
Nas:
“the same question came to me when Mahmoud, the kidnapped Jordanian driver, was released. the only official word was that there were â??effortsâ?Â.”
Yes, indeed. Arab and European governments will admit that much to the public. The US government will never admit even that much.
As for your earlier comment:
“what aroused my curiosity was wondering if she was Muslim. yes some reporters might wear it out of respect to the culture but usually they wear it loose, revealing hair, which sends the signal that they are not Muslim but respectful of the culture and the people of the land.”
Well, I’d expect her to be a little more in tune with Arab sensibilities on this matter than say Andrea Koppel. 😉
Lest We Forget:
Allan Enwiya
I heard on the TV the other night Jill Carroll insisting that her captors treated her well, really well. Let us not forget that others who were with her that day she was captured were not treated so well. As Michelle Malikin states JILL CARROLL was FREED but Allan Enwiya wasn’t, was he? He got gunned down.
That’s true, there’s no point in talking about how well she was treated, whoever kidnapped her still murdered her interpreter.
Apparently, Jill Carroll has been minimizing the negativity of her kidnapping in the media since her release. A lot of people seem to think she is anti-American and pro-insurgency. A lot of the right-wing blogs and some pro-western Arab blogs are going off on her. Maybe she deserves it – then again, maybe she just needs some time to collect herself – perhaps she just has a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Debbie Schlussel, little green footballs, Jihad/Dhimmi Watch, Egyptian Sandmonkey, all are discussing her post-captivity behavior. A lot of people aren’t so happy with her. I think it is best to take a wait and see attitude, though.
counterterroism blog thinks the reason for her release will be known soon enough:
http://counterterror.typepad.com/the_counterterrorism_blog/2006/03/jill_carroll_is.html
Egyptian Sandmonkey reports:
http://www.sandmonkey.org/2006/03/31/withholding-judgment-for-now/
Big Pharaoh weighs in:
http://bigpharaoh.blogspot.com/2006/03/apology-for-jill-carroll-if-below.html
Debbie Schlussel is reporting a that some Islamic ‘charity group’ that is reputed to give money to Hamas (and possibly to the Iraqi insurgency) is stating they had a hand in helping get her released. I won’t provide a link to this site since some (including possibly this blog’s owner) consider her a ‘hate monger.’ You can find it yourself through a search engine. Who knows how credible the claim is. Same goes for lgf, Jihad/Dhimmi Watch, etc.
Gee, she seems to have completely forgotten about the time men with AK-47s standing behind her decided to film her weeping and begging that the US surrender to terrorist demands so that her life would be spared. Christian Science Monitor is reporting that she was threatened before her release and, of course, her translator was murdered by these thugs. You would never realize any of this by her public behavior since her release.
samaritan, yes I’ve read a few of these yesterday. Some are saying that she conspired with these people to make the war look bad. I truly doubt someone would do that and to tell you the truth she doesn’t need to do anything to make it look any worse.
it’s unheard of that a person could be kidnapped and then support the kidnapper’s campaign. either you come home wrapped in an American flag or a body bag.
anyways, be catious of the radical right and radical left blogs/bloggers
“Some are saying that she conspired with these people to make the war look bad.”
Oh, I don’t she would have conspired with her captors from the start to the finish. Yes, that would be an absurd suggestion.
“itâ??s unheard of that a person could be kidnapped and then support the kidnapperâ??s campaign.”
I don’t know if it is necessarily unheard of. Certainly, the Christian Peaceamakers certainly don’t sound like they became any more pro-American (or less anti-insurgency) after their ordeal. Neither did some of these European hostages. In fact, it is not uncommon for kidnapping victims to sympathize with their captors. In any event, some of what I’ve been reading suggests she may have felt threatened when she made her seemingly pro-insurgency comments. Like Sandmonkey is saying, we will need to wait awhile to find out exactly how she feels.
“anyways, be catious of the radical right and radical left blogs/bloggers”
Not a big little green footballs or Schlussel fan are you, Nas? 😉 That’s OK, I’m not a big “Daily Kos” fan myself: http://www.dailykos.com/
😉
samaritan, I’m not a fan of anyone who insults my ethnicity or my religion, or supports those that do 😉