Month: March 2008

484 Days into a Hostage Crisis

“I would have preferred to receive a video as proof of life.”

There are 11 hostages missing in four separate kidnappings from Southern Iraq. Wednesday’s gruesome news brought despair, but also new hope to five families, but there are others out there without news. Six Americans, four South Africans, one British, and one Austrian have been taken hostage in southern Iraq.These kidnappings were well coordinated and planned, I highly doubt that any were done by criminal gangs – signs indicate to me that the kidnappings were the work of one of the below groups:

  1. Qods force or Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commando activity.
  2. Sunni Militia in Basra
  3. Shia militia in Basra

There are many reasons behind that, most prominent is that the groups are not demanding money, and I believe they are rebuffing attempts to contact them to arrange ransom.

What is most disturbing to me is the dearth of news coverage about this — six Americans hostage this long, and pretty much zip for coverage until something gruesome happens likes Wednesday’s news.

Today you can do a google news search on “Jonathon Cote” and pull up lots of stories, but last week you would have drawn a blank. The news media has not been covering this, instead they spend their hours covering missing toddler Maddy McCann, Natalie Holloway, inconsequential crap,  and the sensational. If you can’t say “Tabloid Press” I can.

Contrast the coverage Jonathon and the other captives received to the coverage received when Steve Centanni from Fox was kidnapped, when the Korean missionaries were kidnapped, or when Alan Johnston was kidnapped. The stories ran daily, even when there was zip for new developments.

There is something about kidnappings in Iraq that makes reporters shy away. In February, a reporter and his interpreter were kidnapped, but have you heard much since? Note the other reporters captured in Iraq who are not household names. I would characterize it as “well they aren’t reporting it because it’s a country fighting an insurgent war”; but that theory is shot down in flames by the Afghanistan hostages and the coverage they received.

What can you do to help?

  • Bring this up at church – regardless of what you think about the Iraq war, these people need your help and prayers.
  • Write your state’s congressional delegation – ask them what else the state department and other authorities can do.
  • Call Radio talk shows — don’t be a seminar caller, but let people know these hostages are still out there.
  • Bring this up in forums, blogs, and in conversation

All help is appreciated, it’s time this problem gained more traction.

 UPDATE: The Iraqi interpreter kidnapped with the British CBS reporter was released, this mirrors the pattern in Jonathon Cote’s kidnapping – the Iraqi truck drivers in the caravan were quickly released.

All Previous Stories on the Hostages

Greta and Bill MIA

Greta covers missing person cases, she’s done hours of material on Natalie Holloway alone, and Bill says he’s looking out for us. Greta & Bill:

Who’s looking out for these guys?

UPDATE 3/13 – Fox News now has a very good update to the story with many comments on the situation from family and friends of the hostages.

All Five Hostages Alive

Joshua Munns, Jonathon Cote, John Young, Bert Nussbaumer, and Paul Reuben.When I posted Monday about Jonathon Cote I stated that I have high confidence that he is alive.

 I had promised the family not to reveal details on how I knew that, however now the news is out and it’s revealed that all are alive.

All five of the hostages are confirmed as alive, we know this because five fingertips were received. DNA was confirmed by authorities, so the hostages are all still alive. Story from Reuters:

VIENNA (Reuters) – A fingerprint and DNA sample of an Austrian hostage in Iraq have been received by U.S. authorities, an Austrian official said on Wednesday after a magazine reported that fingers of five westerners had been obtained.

Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Johannes Kyrle told a news conference U.S. authorities in Baghdad had told Austria the samples belonged to Austrian Bert Nussbaumer, 26, who was seized with four American colleagues near Basra in November 2006 while they worked as security guards.

The weekly magazine News said on Wednesday that five fingers had been received and that DNA analysis had shown them to come from Nussbaumer and Americans Josh Munns, Jonathon Cote, Paul Johnson Reuben and John R. Young.

The Reuters story goes on to cruelly point out that the fingertips could have been removed after death, however that’s unlikely. This is traditional hostage taker method of reminding you that they have the hostage. It’s a cruel way to both raise and dash hope. I have faith in our authorities, and have hope that these captive souls on foreign shore will be returned. Four of them are US Citizens, think on why it is you haven’t heard much about this — they are now held captive 38 days longer than the Americans held in the Iranian Hostage Crisis.

If you want to read more, or see the latest news from the families, please visit FreeCote.Com.

UPDATE: More at Washington Post

UPDATE II, From Vicki at Not Ready for my Burqa: McClatchey Newspapers are reporting that one of the fingers belongs to Ronald Withrow, an American computer technician kidnapped in January 2007 in Basra, but who was not confirmed as being held by the kidnappers of the Crescent Security contractors:

Authorities have confirmed that the fingers belonged to hostages Jonathan Cote, of Gainesville, Fla., Joshua Munz, of Redding, Calif., Paul Reuben, of Buffalo, Minn., Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria, and Ronald J. Withrow, of Lubbock, Texas.

[. . .]

There was no word today on a fifth contractor who was seized with them, John Young, of Kansas City. Contrary to Austrian news reports, none of the fingers belonged to him, authorities said.

More at Not Ready For My Burqa

The false checkpoints and precision of both these operations further supports my speculation that this is Qods Force, or Iranian Revolutionary Guard Commando planned and executed.

Update III from WGRZ:

The father of Getzville native, Jonathon Cote says a fingerprint and D.N.A belonging to his son and four other men being held hostage in Iraq, have been sent to the U.S. government.

Francis Cote says a representative from the F.B.I. told his family about the development, two weeks ago.

Cote and four other private security workers were kidnapped in Iraq in November 2006. A hostage tape of the men was released a few weeks later but they have not been seen or heard from since.

On Wednesday, Reuters news agency published an internet article about the development after an Austrian magazine reported that fingers from the five hostages had been sent to U.S. officals.

Francis Cote says he has not received confirmation from the U.S. government but he did read the on-line article.

He told 2-on-your-side Wednseday afternoon he and his family have hope that this means Jonathon is still alive and they are praying for his safe return.

The family has a weekly conference call with the State Department and his son’s finger was not mentioned in that call this week. Mr. Cote is also asking why he had to learn about that from a website. 

Previous Story from WGRZ on the January 2007 Tape released on the hostages.

UPDATE IV, Etymology, Messages from Kidnappers:

According to Viennese Correspondents to News.com.AU Online, this story first broke in a Viennese Weekly Magazine, titled simply “News”.  There is also this which is more information:

The magazine said three messages had been sent by kidnappers but no financial or political demands had been received by Austria.

Update V

Yahoo news has the most comprehensive article in News so far.

Previous Article:

In November I wrote a post about Jonathon Cote, who’s now been held hostage in Iraq or Iran for 36 days longer than the people in the Iranian Hostage Crisis were. Jonathon is in the middle of top row of the accompanying picture.

He and the other heroes in captivity (one police officer, a US Army Soldier,) will be hostage for two years this coming November. It’s easy in the buzz of events to forget this, but at times it comes back with a thud to me.

Most people are probably assuming that the hostages have been killed by now, but I have high confidence that they are still living. No, I won’t tell you the reason for that confidence until perhaps after he’s freed.

The thud comes at odd times — I’ll click on Itunes and think “Jonathon doesn’t get to listen to music I bet.” Or I will read of another hostage taking by Islamic Terrorists, like this one today, or perhaps I will stumble across an Israeli story on Gilad Shalit.

Do other people besides his family and friends think of Jonathon? It doesn’t seem so. Unlike the Iranian Hostage Crisis, there aren’t any demonstrations. The current hostage crisis doesn’t help or hurt anyone politically, so it’s just ignored – it’s not even a crisis to the newsies. If you do a google for him, you won’t find anything except now-archived-for-pay old news stories from last year.

That’s saddening, it’s not only for Jonathon and family you should grieve — it’s also for this great nation. What have we become that we can ignore US Citizens held hostage so long? Israel remembers and doesn’t write-off their citizens held hostage — why are we?

Sorry to be such a bummer tonight, but I have to say what is.

Not Ready for My Burqa also remembers Jonathon, and all the other hostages as well.

Resources:

The Brookings Institute Iraq Index 10-29 (PDF Link) – contains many good charts and stats on how the surge is going as well.)

US policy for Hostage situations (PDF Link)

Freecote.com

All Posts about Jonathon Cote

There’s another site out there that is also working for the hostages, SAVE5.net, but I will not link to a site flying the American flag upside down. I understand the meaning, but it also has meaning with the anti-war crowd, so I remain suspicious of the site.

Also MISSING

Jonathon Cote: Still Alive and Still Hostage

Joshua Munns, Jonathon Cote, John Young, Bert Nussbaumer, and Paul Reuben.In November I wrote a post about Jonathon Cote, who’s now been held hostage in Iraq or Iran for 36 days longer than the people in the Iranian Hostage Crisis were.

He and the other heroes in captivity (one police officer, a US Army Soldier,) will be hostage for two years this coming November. It’s easy in the buzz of events to forget this, but at times it comes back with a thud to me.

Most people are probably assuming that the hostages have been killed by now, but I have high confidence that they are still living. No, I won’t tell you the reason for that confidence until perhaps after he’s freed.

The thud comes at odd times — I’ll click on Itunes and think “Jonathon doesn’t get to listen to music I bet.” Or I will read of another hostage taking by Islamic Terrorists, like this one today, or perhaps I will stumble across an Israeli story on Gilad Shalit.

Do other people besides his family and friends think of Jonathon? It doesn’t seem so. Unlike the Iranian Hostage Crisis, there aren’t any demonstrations. The current hostage crisis doesn’t help or hurt anyone politically, so it’s just ignored — it’s not even a crisis to the newsies. If you do a google for him, you won’t find anything except now-archived-for-pay old news stories from last year.

That’s saddening, it’s not only for Jonathon and family you should grieve — it’s also for this great nation. What have we become that we can ignore US Citizens held hostage so long? Israel remembers and doesn’t write-off their citizens held hostage — why are we?

Sorry to be such a bummer tonight, but I have to say what is.

Not Ready for My Burqa also remembers Jonathon, and all the other hostages as well.

Resources:

The Brookings Institute Iraq Index 10-29 (PDF Link) – contains many good charts and stats on how the surge is going as well.)

US policy for Hostage situations (PDF Link)

Freecote.com

Obama on Trade

Bypassing the current flap over Obama’s stance or anti-stance on NAFTA, let’s instead look at his past history on other trade agreements. He appears to be against free-trade with countries in the Americas from his debate speech and his past votes, and for trade with overseas countries. He also is for opening doors with tyrranies, and Communist countries.

This should concern all US Citizens – in general the people of the Americas are closer to par with wages and protections of US workers than many other places in the world. This means that jobs are less likely to be exported through American trade agreements, and trade is more likely to be even when we trade in the Americas. Would you rather buy your goods from Costa Rica, or China? The answer should be obvious.

Obama has a troubling history of votes — he voted Yes to trade with Oman, but No to the Central America Free Trade Agreement. In theory this was because CAFTA does not have labor protections in it, but what has he done about trade with Pakistan, China, the Philippines, and other places overseas where labor rights and environmental protections are even less protected than in Central and South America? 

In early 2007 he and Senator Patrick Leahy held up the vote on the Andean Free Trade Agreement to advance a case from Ecuador, where the government is bordering on full Communism, against and American oil company, Chevron. That case has drug through courts since 1993, and amounts to a 10 billion dollar shakedown of a US oil company.

So when Barack Obama says he wants Social Justice, is it just for those in Communist and tyrannical countries, or is it for US Citizens and their friends and neighbors?

Navy Seal Memorial

It’s about time someone started this. Please help with the fundraising efforts for the Navy Seal Memorial, Details here. h/t Jawa

One reminder of the distinguished service the Seals provide and the fine people who are seals, from a post I wrote last October:

753497.jpgThis will be my only post on this day.

Here’s to a friend of our country and a friend of all that is good in this world. Here’s to the strength of one of our best cut down on the battlefield fighting against insurmountable odds. Here’s to a man who though wounded and under fire still took the time to say “thank you” before hanging up his satellite-phone after calling for reinforcements against the 30-40 Taliban his four person team was fighting. Here’s to a man who showed mercy and died from it, without regret.

Lt. Michael Murphy, Navy Seal has just been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest honor in this or any other land. Celebrate his life, his virtue, and his courage today, as will I.

Terror Attack on Israeli School

Little Green Footballs is covering a terror attack on an Israeli school where between six and eigth are reported dead. Israellycool is also liveblogging the event from Israel.

From Haaretz:

Seven students were killed and nine others were wounded Thursday evening when terrorists infiltrated the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem, police said.
One terrorist was also killed, according to police.
Three of the injured were listed as being in serious condition and taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Ein Karem, while the other six were lightly hurt and taken to Sha’arei Tzedek Medical Center. MDA declared the incident a “multiple casualty event.”

Karachi Blackout

Higher energy prices are having effects in countries of the subcontinent, Karachi has gone from load-shedding to a complete blackout yesterday over unpaid energy bills. In nearby Nepal they struggle to keep up with the increased cost of Energy as well, and most of the nations in the subcontinent are in similar shape; holding thin reserves and piles of overdue bills to the countries who supply them. (mostly India, Iran)

This sub-continental energy crisis will only broaden as energy prices stay high, endangering the standing but unstable governments in that region, including Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Bangladesh.

Energy is key to the countries pulling themselves out of the ditch of third world poverty, they need an economic environment where energy is cheap, plentiful, and clean. Without it we will see more strife, more poverty, more famine, and increasing numbers of child deaths.