Ravenwood - 09/30/04 06:30 AM
Two Italian women were kidnapped in Iraq, and then suddenly freed. Although the Italian government denies it, there is a general feeling that they paid a ransom to free the two girls from the terrorists.
Gustavo Selvo, the head of an Italian parliamentary foreign affairs commission, told reporters he believed a ransom of about $1 million was paid -- despite government denials.Paying the ransom would not only give the terrorists a nice source of income, but it encourages them to kidnap other victims. In this case, Italian victims.Selvo, a member of the National Alliance, a partner in Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government, told France's RTL radio: "The lives of the girls was the most important thing." [...]
A front-page editorial in the Rome daily La Repubblica said a "ransom was paid and that is nothing to be ashamed of." Another paper, Il Messaggero, said as much as $20 million could have been paid.
Category: Get Your War On
Comments (2) top link me
Isn't that what happened in parts of South America?
'Revolutionaries' kidnapping to fund their operations, then giving up and just becoming kidnappers?
Posted by: MMW at September 30, 2004 11:57 AMKidnapping and paying ransom are both Italian traditions of long-standing. The association between them is not accidental.
In the long-term, it's a lot better to stop worrying about the health of any particular hostage and make clear the principle that the only thing kidnapping Americans will get you is a visit from some pissed off Marines. Once that is generally understood, all Americans will be much safer - unless they look too much like Italians...
Posted by: markm at September 30, 2004 12:12 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
