From the BBC: “French hostages plead for lives”
Two French journalists held hostage in Iraq have urged their government to lift a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools to save their lives.
The men also called on French people to protest against the law, set to come into force this week, in a new video shown on Arabic TV station al-Jazeera.
The latest video emerged as a deadline set by their captors for the rescinding of the law was apparently extended.
Hours earlier thousands held rallies across France to support the hostages.
Al-Jazeera reported that the kidnappers had added 24 hours to a deadline to kill the two men – Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper.
The French government has refused to give in to their demands to lift the ban on religious clothing in schools, and Foreign Minister Michel Barnier has been conducting an urgent mission to the Middle East to gather support.
The BBC’s Angus Roxburgh in Paris reports that a large crowd of people gathered in the city’s Trocadero Square on Monday evening, to show their support for the pair.
He says French people have been appalled by their plight, and are baffled by the fact that the country’s citizens should have been targeted by Iraqi militants, given France’s vocal opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq [my emphasis].
Presented without comment. Because really, anyone not in denial over the motivations of radical Islamists could see this coming a mile away.
related: Radical Jewish militants continue not kidnapping French journalists in response to the French ban on yarmulkas in schools.
Baffled. I love that word. Baffle, baffle, baffle, baffle.
If New York is the Big Apple, maybe Paris should be renamed the Big Baffle.
And not even a clue-bat will help…
Your either the funniest guy on the web, or dirty martinis are a way of life for you.
Cuz your either brilliant or drunk when you write.
Hmmmm….maybe both?
Surreal thought for the day: imagine US Marines using their local intelligence sources to find and free these French hostages. I wonder how France would react? Would we win back some of that precious French goodwill we’ve all heard so much about? Would it be immediately forgotten? Would the French journos write stories about how we’d killed their ‘hosts’ just as they were about to be released peacefully?
Instead, of course, the hostages will be brutally killed over the Burqa issue and that’ll be quickly forgotten in the race to refocus blame on the US for invading Iraq in the first place. ‘Cause as we all know, if you try hard enough, it’s always possible to blame America.
How do you say, “Why do they hate us,” in French?
We had to wear coats, ties, polished shoes, etc., in prep school. We never thought of this sort of tactic. As usual, the Iraqis are way ahead of us.
They’re French and they’re journalists. Wait … that’s only two strikes. Don’t they get another?
Maybe this is why Jean-Luc surrendered so much.
French jokes aside (not that they ever get old), here’s another ironic tidbit:
Right. Because we all know the Islamic terrorists are all about defending personal freedoms.
if you try hard enough, it’s always possible to blame America.
Hell, from what I’ve seen in the past 3 years, it doesn’t look like they try all that hard. It seems they think the same thing without trying at all.
Whereas Arabs only respect power, the French only respect displays of cowardice and eviscerated morality (trite makes right). If you want to be taken seriously by people in France, it’s necessary to pander, whine and kiss ass. Anything more aggressive than utter obsequiousness causes them to throw up white flags in befuddlement.
Radical Jew Bastards.
If the French are “baffled,” that right there explains it all. A country with any self-respect would never be “baffled.” Bumfuzzled, maybe. Flabbergasted or even discombobulated, quite possibly. But most likely PISSED OFF.
“Baffled.” Whattabuncha wussies.
Bill in CO:
If we rescued the hostages, the French would hate us more due to pride and shame.
Like they’ve never forgiven us, the Brits, and the Canadians for Normandy.
In a similar vein…
How many Frenchmen does it take to liberate Paris?
No one knows … it’s never been done.
Parce que Abu Ghraib.