Thursday, September 23, 2004
"Terrible Dilemma" posted by Richard Seymour
There are times when one is genuinely in a dilemma, in that one both should and should not do something. This is how the BBC characterises the current hostage situation in Iraq. The government insists that it cannot bargain with terrorists, although it has. The Tory frontbench insist the same, even though they did. In fact, there seems to be no end of imperatives, directives and instructions about what we must never do.The family of Mr Bigley, by contrast, assert that something can be done, but that any hope of a release has been "sabotaged" by the United States, who seem to have moved to prevent the release of a female prisoner in their custody. They also allege that the Foreign Office instructed them to keep quiet about the kidnapping.
Paul Bigley told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there had been "a shadow of light in a big, long, dark, damp, filthy, cold tunnel" when it appeared Dr Taha would be freed.
"Now this has been sabotaged," he said.
"The fact on the table now is that nobody has to negotiate with anybody about anything," he said.
"All the powers have to do now is allow the Iraqis to conduct their own internal affairs the way they should be doing."
Let a "sovereign" country conduct its own internal affairs? What has this man been ingesting? However, since there seems to be some uncertainty out there as to what can be done, allow me to settle the matter once and for all. There are two choices for the government in the current situation:
1) Try to stop the murder. Open up lines of communication through local religious leaders. It is they who, so I have been told, allow or refuse to allow a particular kidnapping. Make all possible efforts to secure the release of Mr Bigley, up to and including fulfilling what seems to be a rather feeble and cost-free demand.
2) Do nothing. Piously announce what we must never ever do, (except when we do). Sympathise with everyone. Assert your claim to the moral high ground and remind one and all that we may support terrorists (Colombia, for instance), carry out acts of terrorism (Libya, for one), outstrip in bloodiness and carnage any terrorist organisation you can find (take your pick), but we do not bargain with terrorists. Then watch the video of Mr Bigley having his head cut off.
The latter is inevitably the recommendation of those who solemnly tell us that we must not "negotiate with terrorists".
Having witnessed a fraction of the video in which an American hostage is beheaded by Zarqawi (apparently), I can give you a sneak preview. What they will do is read out a death sentence, intone a chant, then set upon the hostage from all sides. They will hold him down while someone with a camera records the proceedings from up close. A masked man will enter the frame, and begin to stab the neck. They don't chop - they saw. They saw away at the neck while flesh and blood spill upon the ground. If you can have sound, you will hear screams that will colour your worst nightmares.
That is, I hope, something the bulk of you would wish our government to make some efforts to stop.
Update: Blood and Treasure sums up the situation nicely:
There’s no evidence that taking either a hard line or a soft line will make any difference to Ken Bigley’s fate or to the level of kidnappings in Iraq generally. So the government are faced with a hcoice between making a good faith attempt to secure his freedom by releasing prisoners set for release anyway, or they can choose to “stand firm” – ie, they can use it as a posturing opportunity.
My guess is that Blair would prefer to see a pile of headless corpses rise to the height of Beachy Head rather than do anything that might lead any newspaper, anywhere to call him weak. That’s the kind of weak man he is.
And The Telegraph has discovered that Iraq is not really that sovereign after all . From the mouths of pea-brains comes wisdom.