Great news!

The Simonas and their Iraqi colleagues are free! The Palestinian-Israeli CNN employee is free! Now, let’s pray for the wellbeing of everyone else who is unjustly detained, whether by governmental or extra-governmental forces.

15 thoughts on “Great news!”

  3. This is the sort of news that spread joy to everyone. Hope similar good news for the rest of the innocent civilian hostages in Iraq. First on my wish list is the poor Iraqi people who are being kept captive by their American occupiers.I do not mean those in the prisons only (Abu Gharib for instance ) , but the innocent Iraqis who are being slaughtered by the Americans every day without any attention from the media. Hope they will be free soon.

  4. I listened to the news reports of their release on National Public Radio yesterday and was floored by something the reporter said. She said that Italians and other Europeans were stunned by the kidnapping of the two Simonas because they couldn’t believe that the kidnappers would capture persons who were sympathetic to their cause.
    Is this true, or did the reporter mis-speak? I’m not really familiar with European opinion on this, nor do I know anything about these two women. But are these European development workers really SYMPATHETIC with the cause of these jihad groups that are kidnapping and beheading both westerners and Iraqis? That just floors me if it is true.
    I can recall back in 1980s when I was in college and we had the whole “sandalista” brigade of Americans and Europeans who trooped down to Nicaragua to pick coffee for the Sandanistas and that sort of thing. But I really can’t imagine that a similar parade of Westerners is going to Iraq to support these shadowy jihad/insurgent/terrorist groups that are kidnapping and car bombing and generally spreading violence and terror.

  5. Kent,
    You don’t understand because you see the world in black and white. The two Simona were working for a relief organization called “Un Ponte per..” (A bridge for..) This association was already present in Iraq since the early nineties. They were helping for water sanitation projects and school projects. The Simona were in Iraq before the war begun.
    I don’t think that they are Al’Quaeda supporters, but they were pacifists and opposed to the US war. So was Enzo Baldoni who was also taken hostage and assassinated some months ago.
    And frankly, as another European, I’ve much more sympathy for people like Raed, Faiza and for the resistants, than for the US military. If US hadn’t invaded Iraq, the few Al Quaeda fighter won’t be in Iraq now. I don’t buy the argument that the US only wanted to restore freedom and democracy in Iraq. If your president wanted that, he would already have organized elections, first at the local level and now at the national level.
    I’m so terribly angry at the Americans for what they have done to Iraq and what they have done to the international relationships and multilateralism in the world.

  6. Oh.. and I forgot Kent,
    I don’t think we were really shocked in the EU by the fact the Simonas were taken hostage, as the US press likes to say. I mean, the fact is shocking, but it wasn’t surprising : in a war, you know that that everything can hapen, including many many unujust and unfair deeds. Wars are never clean, they are dirty and unlashes the most negative instincs of some individuals on both sides of the fence or on any others sides involved.
    The Geneva conventions are there to keep a minimum of humanity for all participants in a conflict, but not even the US is respecting humanitary laws. Shame on your leaders and shame on you if you offer them a second term.
    Also, the fact that hostages are being taken won’t change our opinion on this war. US was wrong to invade Iraq and to wage this colonial war. We don’t accept black and white world, where the good willing fihgt against the evil, where those “who aren’t with us are against us”. We want a multilateralist world, a world in which the third world countries get their chance and where their elementary rights are respected.
    I admire Helena’s blog, because she never seems to loose faith, at least never for a long time. she never misses to offer her indignation at war crimes. I appreciate her attitude of positive criticism concerning the rebuilding of Iraq and the organization of fair elections. The fight against the inhumanity of all wars is so unequal that it’s easy to become cynical and getting discouraged.

  7. Christiane:
    You misunderstand me.
    I am not a supporter of the war in the slightest. I opposed it from the very beginning as did my wife who was active in the antiwar movement in both the US and her home country of Chile. From my point of view the Bush administration has perpetrated a massive criminal act in Iraq for largely venal and partisan purposes.
    That said, it’s seems clear to me that this war has stirred up some of the worst terrorist and backwardly fundamentalist elements that the planet has ever seen. Not even the worst acts by the IRA or PLO or other traditional liberation groups comes close to what those guys are doing. Of course this was all predictable I suppose.
    Understand that my comments were focused on the suggestion by NPR that the Simonas were supporters of the jihad movement that has been kidnapping and beheading foreigners and Iraqis.
    I had understood from other reporting that they were pacifists and opposed to the US invasion and doing valuable development work in Iraq. So from that point of view I would have suspected that they and their organization would have opposed BOTH the US actions and the actions of the armed insurrection. After all, how could pacifists support kidnapping, car bombing, and other terrorist acts?
    My question was really about the specific slant and language of the NPR report and a general question about whether European activists working in Iraq were actual SUPPORTERS of the various armed terrorist and jihad movements in Iraq, or simply working on non-political and peaceful development projects in Iraq.
    I for one have wholehearted support for any person or organization with the courage to go and work on peaceful development projects in Iraq. But I don’t have much use or sympathy for any foreign organization (or Army) that goes to Iraq to take up sides in a political, religious, or military manner. That’s the crucial distinction.

  8. One Christiane writes:
    “as another European, I’ve much more sympathy for people like Raed, Faiza and for the resistants, than for the US military.”
    Some sympathies! People who INTENTIONALLY bomb civilians and police recuits? People who sabotage water and electricity services? Mad clerics who want to impose totalitarian theocracy? And are “Raed” and “Faiza” (bloggers? not household names.) to equate to anyone who shoots or bombs an American soldier?
    Fact is, NONE of the people kidnapped by your dear thugs deserved detention or kidnapping. The suggestion that the Simonas uniquely deserved freedom by virtue of being opposed to the U.S. is revolting.
    Please don’t associate your cause with the defeat of Bush. Solid yankee-phobe attitudes like yours assure the defeat of Kerry and the total disgrace of anyone who is skeptical of the war. I can think of nothing worse.

  9. Kent,
    I’m sorry that I misunderstand you. Apologies.
    Who exactly is the NPR ? The formulation you used is very vague : “someone who was supporting their cause” The Simonas were supporting the Iraqis people (civilians) and are in agreements with those who oppose the US war (just after her return to Italy, Simona Toretta participated in a meeting asking the withdrawal of the Italian troops). That doesn’t mean that the Simonas are supporting the most extreme Jihadists. This is the kind of oversimplification made by the US medias and the Bushies. As if they wanted to use this event in order to turn every European into Bush supporters.This also explains my reaction to your question.

  10. Koch,
    The US invaded Iraq under false pretense and made falsee promises to the Iraqis.
    There are several groups resisting this occupation with several different doctrines as to who can be targeted or not. So yes, although I don’t support any means of resistance, I’ve more sympathy for those resisting to the occupation than for the occcupiers.
    I find the actual US politic of forming new Iraqis forces and preparing them to fight against their own brothers properly scandalous : they are far to be as well equipped as the US military, but they are supposed to kill their brothers and to get killed by their brothers instead of the well armed, well protected and well trained US army.
    The actual wars are tremendous in the sense that the warriors are those dying the least and the civilians are those suffering the most.
    Didn’t you see that recent report by the ministry of health : there are twice as much Iraqis civilians dying from the hand of the US military, compared to those who dies becasue of the insurgents.
    And yes, in general I’ve more sympathies for the weakest side, especially if they are invaded by a superpower who initiated an illegal war.
    Killing civilians is contrary to the Geneva conventions, whoever makes the killing and US IMO doesn’t look better than the Jihadists : the escalation operation they are mounting in Falludja, Ramadi, Samara, Baquba etc.. amounts to collective punishment. It was largely used by the Nazi during WWII and is forbided by the Geneva conventions since 1949.

  12. If you listen to the end of the clip you’ll come to the part where the reporter, Sylvia Poggioli, noted that the anti-war movement in Europe was shocked that these terrorists would kidnap two women who were sympathetic to their cause. That’s the comment I was referring to.
    The basic point I’m making is this. You cannot be anti-war and a pacifist and at the same time take sides in what is an armed conflict. I have equal disdain for both the US civilain leaders who brought this war on (it was the civilian leaders not the military) and for the armed resistance and terrorist groups operating in Iraq today. They are all thugs and we would be well to be rid of all of them.
    And Christiane: Don’t assume that this war has ever had widespread support from the American public. A majority of Americans did not support the war when it started and a majority believe it was a mistake today.

  13. Ken, thanks for your explanation concerning the radio.
    Concerning “The basic point I’m making is this. You cannot be anti-war and a pacifist and at the same time take sides in what is an armed conflict.”
    I don’t agree. I don’t see why a pacifist coudn’t take sides : being a pacifist doens’t mean you have to remain without opinion and that you can’t tell to the invader that he is wrong. Pacifism is about the means you choose to solve conflicts. It’s not about staying neutral and accepting anything from both sides.
    Concerning American support for the war, I think that you have a rather selective memory. It’s right that since the situation is worsening in Iraq American are no more supporting the Iraq. But I’ve been collecting poll results and between the february and august 2003 the level of approval of the Iraq war has always been above 50%. Between march and July 2003, it was most of the time nearer of 70% than of 60%. In aprile 2004, it was almost 80%. In the last polls of the Washington Post, it was still 46& approving Bush handling of the war in Iraq against 49% disaproving.
    But the general level of aproval of Bush is remains incredibly high, confronted to his achievements in Iraq and elsewhere. If Americans are so opposed to this war, why is Bush running so high in the recent polls ?

  14. There was a report on the two Simonas in the “Corriere della sera” an Italian newspaper.
    Here is a more accurate quotation of their position concerning resistance and terrorism :
    “In an interview on Friday with Milan daily Corriere della Sera, one of the women, Simona Torretta, said she was sorry if ransom was paid. Asked if kidnappings were a legitimate way to combat the occupation of Iraq, she was quoted as saying: “I distinguish between terrorism and resistance. Being a guerrilla is legitimate, but I’m against the kidnappings of civilians.”
    The two women have also called for the withdrawal of coalition troops, including Italy’s military contingent. ”

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