Release: Final Thoughts on the South Korean Hostages.

It's old news now, but I didn't want to leave the subject of the South Korean hostage release without a few final thoughts. Eugene Cho and Michelle Malkin have the details of the release as it happened, so I won't rehash it here.

Firstly, don't forget that there are still hostages being held by the Taliban, a German man and four Afghans which the Taliban want to exchange for their jihad goons.

Second, it's possible that South Korea paid a ransom for the hostages release. As I noted a few posts ago, that only encourages the Taliban to continue to target aid workers and other innocents. Each instance of capitulation by allied governments increases the Taliban's political clout, as well as providing them much-needed funds.

I'm glad that the Korean hostages are free, but I don't like it that their freedom was bought, either monetarily or with concessions such as the withdrawal of all of South Korea's aid forces (which, incidentally, had already been proposed; why the change of heart, Taliban?). Even more outrageous is that now, the hostages feel compelled to apologize to their countrymen and government for putting themselves into danger in the first place!

"'I've had sleepless nights, thinking of what we have caused the country. I
am deeply sorry,' Yu Kyeong-sik said at a press conference."

Excuse me?! The South Korean government caves like a wet lily to a group of criminals, and the hostages are to blame? Yes, they should have been careful, but venturing into an unstable country is a risk that missionaries and aid workers take. The Bible illustrates in several places that spreading the Gospel is dangerous. I'd like to think that if I were in their place, I would be willing to accept even death in the effort to spread the word about Jesus, rather than have my homeland buy my way out.

This is not to condemn the hostages for wanting to be free, or for apologizing now, but Christians should not be ashamed of those who have given or will give their lives for their faith. We must remember that there is more than this life here on Earth, and though evil may seem to grow stronger, the victory of the Lord is already assured.

Back Online.

I'm connected again, and I've got posts coming up, as soon as I get rid of a terrible summer cold. I figure it's not a good idea to blog while medicated.

In the meantime, thank God that the South Korean hostages in Afghanistan have been released. I have some thoughts on the release deal, but that will wait until I'm more coherent. I'm glad that they are free, though the Taliban still have other hostages.

The other big news? Fred's In. Finally.

South Korean Hostage Update.

There is little news on the state of the South Korean hostages, save this little tidbit. A special committee. Whoopee.

You might remember my post from the other day in which I mention an American Thinker article that says we should consider paying a ransom for the South Korean Hostages. I didn't agree then, and this article lends me some support.

"The consequences of these payments are disastrous, however. Due to the weakness of their governments, Germans, French and Italian citizens are coveted targets
for both terrorist and criminal groups. Every payment has put fellow
citizens at risk, making it virtually impossible for Westerners to work in
Iraq — and increasingly also Afghanistan."

Don't be too hopeful when Islamic leaders exhort the Taliban not to harm women either; the Taliban have a poor track record when it comes to the treatment of their own women, much less non-Muslim women. It suits their purpose to keep the hostages alive as long as they can hope to gain something. The minute the hostages cease to be of value, the terrorists will relieve themselves of a burden and go in search of fresh victims. It may seem like a dangerous risk, but the best thing we can do is attempt to rescue them. Some of the hostages may be killed in the attempt, but some may be saved; it is capitulation to buy their freedom with Taliban goons, and doing nothing will eventually mean their doom. If we respect the courage they are showing, then we must act. Of course, if the media followed this story with the same fervor that they followed Paris Hilton, it might be different. Alas, the silence is deafening.

And for those who think something still can be gained by negotiation? Watch this, and tell me again why we should treat with jihadists.

Hostage in Afghanistan Update

The mainstream media continue to ignore the plight of the hostages in Afghanistan, but there are some new developments.

First, the pregnant German relief worker who was kidnapped the other day has been rescued. She was part of a Christian relief group.

The South Korean hostages are showing courage by going on a hunger strike, demanding that the Taliban hold them together as one group. The Taliban have separated them into small groups and are holding them in different locations to stave off any rescue attempts. Bravo for the hostages - they're showing more guts right now than anyone else, especially since a new deadline has been set, and they could be killed at any time. The Taliban have reduced their demand to eight thugs, rather than the twenty-three they originally insisted upon.

Continue to pray for the hostages, thanking God for their courage, and that they will be delivered. Pray also that the rest of the world will remember them before it's too late.

Link to Image Source.

Time Running Out for Hostages.

The Taliban have declared the negotiations over the South Korean hostages a failure and are now deciding what to do with them. The US and Afghanistan are remaining firm in their insistence not to release any Taliban prisoners, and the South Korean negotiators don't have the power to meet the Taliban's demands.

An article at The American Thinker today says that kidnapping is what the Islamists are commanded to do by the Koran and the hadith (Islamic traditions), so giving into the kidnappers demands will not necessarily inspire more kidnappings. They'll do it regardless.

I don't agree. We must stand up for our own principles, and giving in to the Taliban's demands shows a weakness to an enemy that will take advantage of any sign of it, even if it is to save the lives of the victims. Since the hostages are not Muslim, there's no guarantee that the Taliban will release them once a ransom has been paid.

It may sound cruel, and I certainly would rather see the hostages released, but we shouldn't give in to thugs.

Pray for the hostages, that they will remain steadfast in their faith, and that they will be delivered.

Release: Two Hostages Freed.

First of all, thank God that two more of the South Korean hostages are safe. Michelle Malkin has the latest. Predictably, the Taliban now expect the South Koreans to put pressure on the US and Afghan government to release their goons. So much for good will gestures. I don't think we'll see the release of any more unless our side caves in. The question now becomes how much time are the Taliban going to allow for negotiations before they get impatient, and what are we willing to do to save them?

Michelle phrases it this way:

"Appeasement begets appeasement. Will that lesson be remembered?"

The Bait, The Bite, and the Rat.

More news on the South Korean Hostage crisis. USA Today is not the only news outlet reporting this story in this manner; it seems it came off the news wires this way.

The funny thing is, if you read all these stories, it's only the Taliban spokesmen who assert that the hostages will be freed. The governor of Ghazni knows nothing about it, and the South Korean negotiators are not hopeful. The Taliban claim that the decision has already been made, yet their original demands are still in place. With no cooperation evident from the Afghan authorities and the imminent departure of the South Korean aid groups?

I'm smelling a rat. It seems to me that the Taliban are offering a little bait to the media, setting themselves up as the magnanimous good guys. The media of course, are swallowing it whole. These guys aren't dumb, they know how the world hangs on the media's reporting of events, and they know that the media in general are sympathetic to them. There's already public pressure in South Korea to resolve the situation. The Taliban are offering some honey to lull the negotiators into agreeing to their demands, I think. But their actions say otherwise.

"The Taliban say they have split the hostages into small groups and said any use
of force to try to free them would put their lives at risk."

We're running out of time to do that, I'm afraid.

Additional: There are unconfirmed reports that the Taliban have released two of the hostages, apparently the women who are sick, as a "good will gesture." Hardly. I suspect that if this is true, the two hostages are too sick for them to treat. As I said in previous posts, more dead hostages don't do the Taliban any good, especially during negotiations. More honey, I suspect; this way they look like good guys, yet can still barter for the same number of their own goons.

Addendum: I don't want to come across as cynical, so I'll say that we should still be praying for their release. God can do wonderful things, so these announcements do offer some hope.

Update: No release for hostages yet.

Evidently the "good will" of the Taliban is not so good after all. Some of the hostages may yet be released, and I hope they will be. The Taliban claim it, but the "timing is still being decided," whatever that means. It could be a stalling tactic, or it could indicate dispute in the Taliban leadership over what to do. I suspect it's the latter; as I said earlier, releasing two sick hostages doesn't really weaken their negotiating strength all that much. Not as much as two dead hostages do.

The MSM response? Silence.

Capitulation: The South Korean Hostages.

In an effort to encourage the release of the hostages in Afghanistan, South Korea aid organizations will pull out within a month. The Taliban can surely smell victory here as they continue to dicker over a meeting site with the South Korean officials.

I can understand the desire of the Korean government and people to see the hostages released, but each concession given to the Taliban just raises the price. They know that the only way to get their thugs turned over to them is to drag out the crisis as long as possible. That's why they've allowed the hostages some medicine and why they haven't killed any more despite the passing of the 'final deadline.' Simply put, the hostages are worth more to the Taliban alive than they are dead. Once the negotiations reach the point of impasse, they'll kill them all and be done with it.

The thing to do is to go along with them until a rescue operation can be attempted. It will be dangerous, but not anymore than if negotiations fail. But it probably won't happen.

Ever at the forefront of a crisis, Hillary Clinton has called on the Afghan Government, the Bush administration, and the international community to work with the South Korean officials to get the hostages released. Where has she been the last three weeks?

A Taliban Apologist at Work.

Read it all, if you can stomach it. He is basically saying that what the Taliban are doing in regards to the South Korean hostages is wrong, but can you blame them? He also wonders what the South Koreans were doing there anyway, when they had no business being there. After all, America was the one who declared war.

In addition, he points out that blaming Islam for what the Taliban are doing is like blaming Christianity for the IRA terrorist acts, or the Holocaust. It's interesting that he uses that example, since what the Taliban are demanding is little different from the Nazis sequestering allied journalists and diplomats during WWII, demanding the release of German agents in return. It was thuggery then, and it's thuggery now.

His comparison of the British occupation of India to the US mission in Afghanistan is both ignorant and repugnant. The British occupation of India was begun by the East India Trading Company, not the British government. It's purpose was exploitation. The US invasion was not one of conquest, but to attack our enemies and those who harbor them. We had no plans to exploit the Afghan people or to impose our values and beliefs on them, but to give them the opportunity to take their destiny in their own hands.

Blood of the Martyrs.

If you've been following this story, you'll know that the Taliban have killed another hostage. Al-Jazeera, of course, has video of the hostages.

The breaking news is being covered by the blogs, but I do have some thoughts about this horrible situation.

The first is that in all the reporting of this story, I had to go online to learn that the hostages are Christians, primarily nurses and teachers. I've seen three stories from the AP in our local paper in the last few days, and not one of them mentioned this fact.

Second, let no one doubt what kind of people we are dealing with. Though the liberals would like you to believe otherwise, we are at war with an ideology. They pick their targets according to their beliefs, and they stick at nothing. I don't condemn all Muslims because of the actions of these thugs, but don't believe that they have hijacked a religion. If that is the case, then Muslims everywhere should stand up and loudly condemn such actions. They don't; and the ones that do give half-hearted attempts at best.

Third, pray for the hostages. Most of the ones remaining are women; pray that they will remain strong, setting an example of their faith, and pray that they will be rescued or set free; if not, pray that God will receive them into His arms with love and honor.

Update: Reuters reported a rescue operation, then withdrew the story. The Afghan army has been dropping warning leaflets, but South Korea and the US have ruled out military action. As of yet, the hostages are still alive, though the final deadline has passed.

Keep praying. Maybe someone will do more than drop leaflets.

More info: Predictably, the US media report the Taliban's side of the story.