Thursday, March 23, 2006

Released?

How nice, I thought, Norman Kember has been released. How extremely considerate of the kidnappers to let him go. Unusual though, must have been a very good reason. My thoughts were running along these lines in a desultory manner when I suddenly spotted the small print, not that you'll spot it in this article.

You can catch it better here. Kember was freed by military action by the SAS. Freed, not released. British and American Special Forces, at risk of their lives, assaulted the house where they were being held and, without firing a shot, secured the release of Kember and his two fellow kidnapees.

So scour this reaction from the head of the mission that sent Kember to Iraq. Spot the thanks to God, the pious regret that there are some Iraqis in prison but there is no mention of gratitude to the men that put their own lives at risk to save this man who seems to despise everything they stand for. Now that is Christian charity.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Reptile - it gets worse than that. Not only did the sainted Kember apparently leave instructions that in the event of his kidnap he was not to be 'released' by military action but when the boys turned up he berated them for fighting in an illegal war.

reminds me of edward woodward's line in Who Dares Wins when he turns to the SAS Colonel Hadley and says "Just a thought - if you go through with this The media will be all over you like flies. If any of the hostages die, you'll be damned. If on the other hand you kill the terrorists you'll be damned" Hadley says "Nature of the job."

This war has proven that the media are no longer on side for the army, the navy or the air force.

11:28 am  
Blogger The Pedant-General said...

They have been forced (shamed?) into a putting in a little addendum...

Makes their whole position ludicrous though...

1:40 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...or consistent. What about the US journo who said that they had to be above conflict - and that even if a journo had information which could save US troops from death they had an obligation NOT to disclose it - they were impartial observers and above that sort of thing!

1:49 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...or consistent. What about the US journo who said that they had to be above conflict - and that even if a journo had information which could save US troops from death they had an obligation NOT to disclose it - they were impartial observers and above that sort of thing!

1:50 pm  

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