The Obama administration confirmed on Tuesday that it was reviewing its policy on securing the release of United States citizens taken hostage abroad, but that the ban on paying ransom would not change.This is being sold as a simple review of hostage policy but make no mistake about it.
Word of the review, disclosed by an under secretary of defense in a letter to a Republican lawmaker, came as the administration was grappling with a series of beheadings of American captives by the Islamic State militant group, which posted a video Sunday announcing the third such killing.
Some family members of hostages have criticized what they see as an unacceptable refusal by the administration to grant concessions, including ransom payments, to hostage-takers.
Unlike European governments, which have paid many millions of dollars in ransom to win the release of citizens held by the Islamic State or other militant groups, the United States has said it will never pay money to rescue its citizens. It has also privately pressed other governments not to pay.
The ground is being laid to face two troubling issues that will smack the American public (the uninformed, not you guys) right between the eyes. First up is the fact that the last remaining US hostage is a female. We haven't seen any pictures of her. We don't know her name but is she next in the cue for those ignorant, inhuman bastards that form ISIS.
When ISIS publishes the video of her being beheaded...and lets hope that's all the post...the US public will go ape. It wouldn't surprise me to see certain liberal groups calling for intensified bombing and for troops to be put on the ground.
But another issue is lurking in the background. Women in combat.
I despise the Obama administration for being so "forward" looking that they're already laying the ground to fight off critics when the uninformed finally see the reality of the Middle East via one of America's daughters having her head sawed off. But I hate them even more for thinking that "equality" for the sake of equality should apply to combat that they're pushing other daughters of this nation into.
America has been sleep walking for the entire term of the Obama Administration's time in office. Fairy dust has been spread and silliness has been the primary concern, not real issues facing our nation. Its a shame that some young woman will have to die to wake up the vast majority of us.
Thank you for this post, I had no idea, Solomon. So we are going to jeopardized the safety of all Americans, so that the president (not capitalized intentionally) wont loose public support for women in combat? F---ing Assholes, this is by definition, Article 3, treason. This arrogance is beyond offensive. Mr. President, if you don't like America, which is fine a lot of people don't and are free to leave, and you are determined to change it so drastically wouldn't have been easier to just move to Canada?
ReplyDeletethanks Will but let me add that this is just my speculation. i could easily be wrong, but i noticed that Hagel is quoted in a news article last night as saying that putting women in combat is hard but necessary. he's getting pushback, he knows he's gonna get more and they're laying the ground in my opinion. the terrible thing is that a female hostage is gonna be the next victim in a stupid campaign. one by the enemy and the other by a political party that appears to be at war against the american people.
DeleteUnfortunately, the die is cast. My wife and I were both in the military when we met. She was good at her job...but it wasn't a combat MOS. When the administration dropped the restriction on women in combat, the first thing she said to me was that they better not drop the standards for women, and that they better warn the women wanting combat that if captured, they WILL (not may, will) be raped. That was one reason she had no interest in a combat position. This is one case where my wife had quicker insight into a military matter than I had. I was mostly concerned about physical standards dropping but she was quick to recognize the savagery a woman may have to face in the hands of an enemy.
DeleteFor pity's sake, the media tries to ignore it, but the male ambassador in Benghazi was raped. Yet we want to get them raped, tortured, and beheaded? Equality and toughness has nothing to do with it. I have met a couple of women who could probably survive SEAL hell week. Any man who is worth anything is going to do whatever he can to prevent that kind of monstrous treatment to a woman he is serving alongside.....including being more focused on protecting her more than completing the mission.
That is not politically correct, but that is what an honorable man does.
And what was the reaction to the gang rape of media reporter Lara Logan?
DeleteNada, nichts, nothing.
I see the same reaction by American citizens to an American woman beheaded on video as when men are...little to none.
ReplyDeleteFor one thing, the main stream media will censor the video so nothing will be seen by the majority of American's, the story will be couched in less than gory terms and after the 24 hour news cycle will be as forgotten as the rest.
Paying ransom just invites kidnappings.
There will be no calls for more war or bombing by American's.
Burned out on violence from Islamic lands and numbed by TV shows with special effects butchered zombies and humans abounds.
The people watched or heard about so many killings they don't react anymore, it's just so much ho hum, Islam being Islam again.
After all after 911 and 3,000 deaths it was still being called "The Religion of Peace" ad nauseam.
They called the deaths in Jerusalem an attack on a Mosque for God's sake and the POTUS was concerned about the loss of Palestinian lives.