English Hostage in Iraq begs Blair for help

[Guest INXS]

BBC nerws story

 

The brother of British hostage Kenneth Bigley says the US has "sabotaged" his brother's release by refusing to free a detained woman scientist.

Paul Bigley told the BBC there had been "a shadow of light" when Iraqi ministers said the woman would go free.

 

But the US, which is holding the woman, ruled out any release, saying it would not give in to the kidnappers.

 

Kenneth Bigley was seen in a video appealing to UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to help save his life.

 

The Iraqi government insisted on Thursday that it would not release two female weapons scientists despite statements on Wednesday that it would.

 

Britain has ruled out negotiations with the kidnappers, who have threatened to kill Mr Bigley unless the US and the UK release all women held in Iraqi jails.

 

They have already killed two American hostages.

 

The US says it is holding two female weapons scientists, Rihab Rashid Taha and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash. The UK says it has no Iraqi women in its custody.

 

A separate militant group which took two Italian aid workers hostage in Iraq is said to have killed them. The claim has not been verified.

 

In a message posted on the internet, the group calling itself the Jihad Organisation said the women were killed because Italy had not withdrawn its forces from Iraq.

 

Nothing to negotiate

 

Paul Bigley told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there had been "a shadow of light in a big, long, dark, damp, filthy, cold tunnel" when it appeared Dr Taha would be freed.

 

"Now this has been sabotaged," he said.

 

"The fact on the table now is that nobody has to negotiate with anybody about anything," he said.

 

"All the powers have to do now is allow the Iraqis to conduct their own internal affairs the way they should be doing."

 

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the hostage had been placed in an appalling situation by evil men, but this could not alter the UK's position.

 

 

'Torture'

 

The 11-minute video of Mr Bigley's plea was apparently made by the Tawhid and Jihad Group headed by al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

 

In it the hostage appeals to Mr Blair, saying: "You are the only person on God's earth who can help me."

 

"I think this is possibly my last chance," he says, sobbing repeatedly.

 

"I don't want to die... Please free female prisoners held in Iraqi prisons."

 

Mr Bigley's relatives have urged the kidnappers "to be all merciful".

 

Iraqi Minister of State Kassem Daoud denied that his government had bowed to US pressure in deciding not to release Dr Taha.

 

The decision was made by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi in order to show that Iraq would not negotiate with the kidnappers, he told Today.

 

"Unfortunately... there was an impression that the Iraqi government made a deal with the terrorists, which we never, ever do," he said.

 

Mr Bigley, 62, was among three Western civilian contractors kidnapped a week ago in Baghdad.

 

Video footage released on Monday showed American Eugene Armstrong being killed by a masked man said by the CIA to be Mr Zarqawi.

 

A second American, Jack Hensley, was killed 24 hours later. A video purportedly showing his killing was posted on Wednesday evening after his body had been found.

 

If anyone has seen the full video it's so, so sad. The guy is literally crying, begging for his life. Very moving.

 

Perhaps it might be an idea to offer to release a few of the lower level Iraqi female prisoners - the ones we've got banged up for stealing and other petty crimes. I don't know - I mean I understand that we can't appease this group and giving in to them or negotiating will encourage them and others like them to continue to take hostages.

[Zorin Industries 0]

I have been quite impressed the British governments stance of not talking to terrorists under any circumstances.

 

(Unless its the IRA, but that dosen't count)

[bob_barron 0]

Perhaps it might be an idea to offer to release a few of the lower level Iraqi female prisoners - the ones we've got banged up for stealing and other petty crimes. I don't know - I mean I understand that we can't appease this group and giving in to them or negotiating will encourage them and others like them to continue to take hostages.

 

Why? It only encourages them to make more hostages

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

But the hostage will be saved.

 

So one of the imprisioned Muslims can be freed and blow him up on a crowded bus...

[Guest MikeSC]

If anyone has seen the full video it's so, so sad. The guy is literally crying, begging for his life. Very moving.

 

Perhaps it might be an idea to offer to release a few of the lower level Iraqi female prisoners - the ones we've got banged up for stealing and other petty crimes. I don't know - I mean I understand that we can't appease this group and giving in to them or negotiating will encourage them and others like them to continue to take hostages.

So, it might be an idea --- to appease these groups and give in to them?

 

Hint: You do that --- and you'll have five people begging for mercy, rather than the one.

-=Mike

[Downhome 0]

Where did you find the full video?

[Justice 0]

Perhaps it might be an idea to offer to release a few of the lower level Iraqi female prisoners - the ones we've got banged up for stealing and other petty crimes. I don't know - I mean I understand that we can't appease this group and giving in to them or negotiating will encourage them and others like them to continue to take hostages.

So... you endorse positive reinforcement as a course of action? Because, frankly, that's all that this is. You release a few prisoners, then next week they take another one and demand more. Appeasing a terrorist is the worst possible course we could take with this; it solves nothing and it only makes us look weaker in their eyes, which is something we don't want to do because they'll only push us more.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

We should shoot every tenth terrorist detainee live on al-jazeera every time they do this.

[Renegade 0]

We should shoot every tenth terrorist detainee live on al-jazeera every time they do this.

Seconded.

[2GOLD 0]

Guys, come on. That's a tad extreme.

Go with every 15th then we'll talk.

 

 

It's a damn shame this is happening but there is nothing we can do. We can't free terrorists so we take heat for letting him die, which is the only course of action to be had sadly.

 

Free one terrorist and tomorrow that one person could blow up a bus full of people. Then we catch flack for releasing the hostage.

 

Not to mention, there is no saying the terrorist won't kill the hostage anyway. It's a lose-lose.

[Styles 0]

We should shoot every tenth terrorist detainee live on al-jazeera every time they do this.

I would fully support that.

[Highland 0]

Decimate them. Literally.

[Skywarp! 0]

Have none of you read "MacBeth"? What makes you think that killing detainees will stop the beheadings?

[Jingus 0]

It wouldn't. If the US government started executing Iraqi citizens, there would only be an increase in terrorist attacks, and they'd actually have reason to be mad this time. No country has the right to kill another country's people, in that other country. (I'm not talking about military fighting, I mean taking someone you already have in custody and offing them.)

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I wasn't talking random citizens..

 

This would definitely work though, as eventually one would run out of terrorists. Considering that they blow themselves up as well, they'll lose by sheer force of numbers, eventually. Plus, they obviously don't have any viable nuclear or chemical weapons/ways to use them, because we would've been HIT by them by now if they did. There is no reason to be afraid of any consequences, and it would totally go into biblical proportions which is what they're doing anyway, so fuck 'em. Better yet, kill the prisoner they want freed.

[Dr. Tom 0]

If anyone has seen the full video it's so, so sad. The guy is literally crying, begging for his life. Very moving.

I'm sure it is. The fact remains that we can NEVER give in to the demands of terrorists. Just once, I want to see a hostage go on TV and not beg for his life, but encourage the allied forces to eradicate the wastes of sperm and egg who captured him in the first place.

 

Perhaps it might be an idea to offer to release a few of the lower level Iraqi female prisoners

You've got to be fucking kidding me. Absolutely not. Never. Not a chance.

 

I mean I understand that we can't appease this group and giving in to them or negotiating will encourage them and others like them to continue to take hostages.

Then why are you being such a sissy and saying maybe we should let free one of the people they want released? Fuck that. Kill the goddamn people they want released just to show them we're not at all willing to negotiate. "Hostages" (the term is poor because hostages usually have a chance, while these poor people are dead the moment they're captured) are nothing to the terrorists, so why should the people they seem to care about be worth a damn to us?

 

To the story:

 

The brother of British hostage Kenneth Bigley says the US has "sabotaged" his brother's release by refusing to free a detained woman scientist.

Good. Anyone who understands how terrorist organizations work would encourage their government NOT to try and obtain anyone's release. I do feel sorry for the families involved in this, but they need to stop weeping and snivelling on national TV and trying to get us to change our very sensible policy on terrorism just because it's their family member who got kidnapped. If we acquiesce and release a few prisoners, what's next? We leave Fallujah because a dozen people got taken hostage? We leave Iraq to save a classroom full of kids? Sorry, no. We've drawn the line in the sand and there will be no crossing of it.

 

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the hostage had been placed in an appalling situation by evil men, but this could not alter the UK's position.

Amen to that.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'm sure it is. The fact remains that we can NEVER give in to the demands of terrorists. Just once, I want to see a hostage go on TV and not beg for his life, but encourage the allied forces to eradicate the wastes of sperm and egg who captured him in the first place.

I don't think the terrorists would put that on the air, General...