So less than a week ago the “official” word was that we don’t negotiate with terrorists and there were no plans to release any female Iraqi prisoners. Given terrorists demanded the release of female Iraqi prisoners in exchange for Jill Carroll, the American journalist they kidnapped.
No plans to free Iraqi female prisoners
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) — A Pentagon official said Friday he was unaware of any plan to release female Iraqi prisoners from U.S. custody as demanded by kidnappers of a U.S reporter.
Kidnappers in Iraq calling themselves the Revenge Brigade on Jan. 7 abducted American Jill Carroll, a freelance journalist working for the Christian Science Monitor.
They have threatened to kill Carroll, 28, if all Iraqi female prisoners are not released Friday.
Bryan Whitman, a senior Pentagon spokesman, said Friday there are fewer than 10 female Iraqi prisoners in U.S. custody, and he was unaware of attempts to review and release them in response to the kidnappers’ threat.
U.S. policy is not to negotiate with kidnappers.
Carroll was abducted on her way back from a scuttled interview with a Sunni politician in Baghdad. Her translator was murdered, and her driver thrown out of the car.
On Friday, that politician, Adnan Dulaimi, head of the General Conference of the Iraqi People, pleaded for her release at a press conference.
Her abduction has been roundly condemned throughout Iraq and much of the Muslim world.
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Now today I see a report that says female prisoners are being released. And given there were “less than 10″ the release of 5 seems to indicate that just might be all of them.
Five Female Iraqi Prisoners Freed by U.S.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Five Iraqi women detainees were released Thursday by the U.S. military, FOX News has confirmed. They were among hundreds of Iraqi prisoners released after officials found no reason to continue their detention.
Major Gen. Rick Lynch said Thursday the women were released along with more than 400 male prisoners.
The release of the female detainees was also part of a demand by kidnappers who took American journalist Jill Carroll hostage last week. A U.S. official said the release was unrelated to the kidnappers’ demands.
But an Iraq Interior Ministry official said the move could help free Carroll.
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Just a coincidence….. RIIIIIIIGHT…..
Seems to me this would only encourage MORE KIDNAPPINGS! Blogger American Crusader has a good post about this.
So lets just say for a moment that it was not coincidental. That there were some back room deals cut. What would make Jill Carroll’s life so much more valuable than others in cases where no apparent negotiations were made?
If there were negotiations, maybe they were made at the demand of people like Adnan Dulaimi and other Iraqi officials?
I don’t think this is going to make anyone in Iraq safer. But there probably are some terrorists in Iraq that feel emboldened, coincidence or not.
January 30th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
New Jill Carroll video
A new video has been released of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll. She is requesting the release of the rest of the female Iraqi prisoners. (So apparently they all have not been released.) Reports mention that there are 5 more in custody.
Re…