Our So-Called Allies in the GWOT Paid Ransom

(Hat tip to Bizzy via email.)

I know this is going to be hard to believe, friends, but our so-called allies in the global war on terrorism actually paid ransoms to our enemy. The TimesOnline (UK) has the story...

FRANCE, Italy and Germany sanctioned the payment of $45 million in deals to free nine hostages abducted in Iraq, according to documents seen by The Times.
All three governments have publicly denied paying ransom money. But according to the documents, held by security officials in Baghdad who have played a crucial role in hostage negotiations, sums from $2.5 million to $10 million per person have been paid over the past 21 months. Among those said to have received cash ransoms was the gang responsible for seizing British hostages including Kenneth Bigley, the murdered Liverpool engineer.

The list of payments has also been seen by Western diplomats, who are angered at the behaviour of the three governments, arguing that it encourages organised crime gangs to grab more foreign captives.

“In theory we stand together in not rewarding kidnappers, but in practice it seems some administrations have parted with cash and so it puts other foreign nationals at risk from gangs who are confident that some governments do pay,” one senior envoy in the Iraqi capital said.

This is such an outrage that I may actually have difficulty finding the words to express it sufficiently.

We expect this sort of thing from France...but Italy and Germany??? I thought those two countries were made of sterner stuff, but apparently not.

The way to win against these terrorist thugs is to starve them out. Giving them millions of dollars fuels their fight and encourages them to take more hostages. As I said before, we should expect this sort of treachery from the likes of France, but this is not the sort of action the coalition should accept on the part of allies in the effort to stamp out Islamofascist terrorism.

I don't know how many troops France, Italy and Germany are contributing to the multinational force in Iraq or the NATO mission in Afghanistan, but it might be worth sending a message to the rest of our allies that contributing to our enemies via ransom payments is not an acceptable strategy for victory in this fight.

And remember this folks...the next time Zarqawi's terrorists take another hostage, you have France, Italy and Germany to thank for it. The %^&*^%$ bastards.