Nicolas Henin, center, former French hostage and
journalist, waves as he walks with his family moments after his arrival
by helicopter from Evreux to the military airbase in Villacoublay, near
Paris, April 20, 2014.August 22, 2014
By Cory Adwar
A French journalist (click here) who became close with American journalist James Foley while the two were held hostage by ISIS in Syria spoke to the BBC Thursday about the kind of friend Foley was under the extreme circumstances of their captivity.
Nicolas Henin was held for ten months before his April release, thanks to the French government's negotiations with the radical Islamist group....
I am sure there are articles somewhere that indicates the type of negotiations and what the final result was for France. One has to stop and realize the larger number of hostages were taken about one year before there were demands for their release. That was done because once the hostages were held for ransom the aid workers and journalists would not be coming to Syria anymore. Fear. Knowledge the chances of being captured and held for ransom or worse would stop people from entering Syria.
In that reality is the fact some hostages were killed and some were not. It is common knowledge the ransom for each hostage was a large amount of money. The families could not afford to pay ransom. The countries would have to supply the monies and/or possibly the NGO. That large amount of money was calculated when the hostages were taken a year before the ransoms were demanded. These acts are sabotage. The kidnappings are illegal and the monies paid were sabotage to the countries that paid them. Why sabotage, because the monies depleted the sources and made the kidnappers wealthy.
There may be a way of knowing if the monies paid for ransom to the criminals called the Islamic State then paid for weapons, travel and salary (if there is such a thing among these criminals).
Who paid for the weapons that killed innocent citizens in Paris? Who paid for the weapons the Belgians are rooting out of their society?
If the free world and civilized people are to defeat the Islamic State criminals when will their life line of financing stop?
What bothers me more than anything is the fact these criminals/Ba'athists have contemplated their course. They planned for the hostages, which means the money was also planned for in use to further their violence. Now, at some point in time the Ba'athists/criminals of the Islamic State knew the money would stop. They knew they were going to kill in Paris. It was a priority. It was to end the publications of the free world. They knew they would populate violent sympathizers in Belgian. What else do they know that the free world has yet to realize?
Europe has to come to a very clear reality in that their methods in handling international criminals is ineffective. These people know no compassion. They maintained their hostages as chattle/possessions/assets to the Islamic State. There was no compassion so much as practical management of them to maintain their lives for future financial gain.
These criminals are well seasoned soldiers that will kill in a moments notice. The organizers of the Islamic State are primarily Ba'athists from Iraq. They have waited and waited and planned and started a civil war in Syria to carry out their plans. These Ba'athists know they have no place 'to be' in this world. They knew their lives were worthless with the invasion of the USA Coalition and they were ostracized within any Western decisions in nation building. Let's just say they are ruthless killers and nothing will stop them.
The USA never pays ransom to kidnappers. There have been times when dealing with Iran's judicial system the bail money for American prisoners have been paid, but, that is a sovereign nation and not a band of criminals. Iran's government has been willing in the past to look at the charges against Americans and reverse lower court decisions. That is because it is a sovereign state. But, the rule is when dealing with kidnappers there is no money exchanged.
Europe's democracies are magnificent and out class the USA in many ways. We rely on European countries to contribute to the international dialogue that brings all countries together in values and laws. But, when it comes to national security the nations of Europe have to decide what works and what doesn't.
Today, the Belgians are most correct. They have to find the criminals before the crimes are committed. I am not worried about that round up of human beings. I know the Europeans well enough they will handle everyone with care and will hold them responsible for plans if the evidence is clear. But, to get to the point where the evidence is clear that may mean arresting people before the worst happens.
The USA can somewhat passively watch the events occurring in Europe because there is an ocean that provides a natural barrier to those in Syria. However, we all learned how easy it has been to kill with airliners, too. So, The West is cautious. I think Europe needs to decide if they are cautious enough in their compassion for others. It is not right to have France pay for the hostages twice, once with negotiations and the second time with French blood.
Kindly be careful, it hurts when these events take place in Europe. It hurts a lot.
By Michael Birnbaum
PARIS — Belgian counterterrorism police (click here) conducted raids across their nation on Thursday, killing two suspected Islamist militants and disrupting an alleged plot to launch an attack that would have been the second instance of homegrown Islamist violence in Europe in just eight days, officials said.
The dramatic police strikes coincided with heightened alerts across Europe in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris last week by men claiming ties to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. European counterterrorism officials have been warning that their top security threat is the risk of attacks by their own citizens, radicalized by the conflict in Syria. . The Belgian and French events, which did not appear to be directly tied to each other, underscored the dangers facing the continent....
