Okay. Realize how serious all this is yet????
To all of you on this board who are liberal, Democrat, anti-war, and pacifists: I would like to ask your opinions here on what to do about this. Remember....these people they are kidnapping and threatening to "burn alive" are humanitarian workers and aid workers there to help the Iraqi people. Read their demands...the choice they give to the government of Japan.....and tell me what you think should be done.



Iraq Insurgents Threaten to Burn Hostages


Apr 8, 9:02 PM (ET)

By JASON KEYSER


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - In a dramatic video released Thursday, insurgents revealed they had kidnapped three Japanese and threatened to burn them alive in three days unless Japan agrees to withdraw its troops from Iraq.

Armed with assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the kidnappers shouted "Allahu akbar" - God is great - in the video and held knives to the throats of the Japanese, who screamed and whimpered in terror.

Japan's government said it has no plans to pull troops out of Iraq in response to the threat, which came amid a series of other kidnappings targeting civilians.

Two Arab residents of east Jerusalem - one an Israeli citizen working for a U.S. aid group - and seven South Korean Christian missionaries were detained Thursday, though the Koreans were released.

A Canadian humanitarian aid worker for the International Rescue Committee was taken hostage Wednesday by a local militia in Najaf, southern Iraq, the agency said Thursday. Fadhi Ihsan Fadel was the first Canadian to be abducted in Iraq, Canadian Foreign Affairs spokesman Sameer Ahmed said in Toronto.

The events suggested a new tactic by insurgents to pressure the governments of Washington's allies in Iraq, and posed dire implications for U.N. workers, journalists, religious groups, security personnel and other civilians doing business here.

Foreigners have been detained by gunmen for brief periods in the past - usually in robberies - and Iraqi citizens have been kidnapped and held for ransom by criminals. But this was the first time foreigners have been snatched for political reasons, and the first such dramatic video ultimatum.

The Arabic TV station Al-Jazeera, broadcasting to Iraq and the rest of the Arab world, aired portions of the video of the Japanese hostages released by a previously unknown group calling itself the "Mujahedeen Squadrons." It showed two men and one woman surrounded by gunmen wearing black, and close-ups of the captives' passports.

Al-Jazeera editors said the three were taken hostage in southern Iraq, where black-clad Shiite militiamen have been engaged in an uprising this week. The exact date of their capture was not known.

Japanese troops are based outside the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.

Associated Press Television News obtained a copy of the full video, in which four masked men point knives and swords at the blindfolded captives as they lie on the floor of a room with concrete walls.

At one point, a gunman holds a knife to the throat of one of the men, whose blindfold has been removed; his eyes widen in panic and he struggles to try to get free. The woman screams and weeps.

On Al-Jazeera, an announcer read a statement he said came with the video declaring a three-day ultimatum for Japan to announce its withdrawal of troops.

"Three of your sons have fallen into our hands," the announcer read. "We offer you two choices: either pull out your forces, or we will burn them alive. We give you three days starting the day this tape is broadcast."

Japan's NHK television identified the captives as two aid workers and a journalist. The passports shown in the video belong to Noriaki Imai, born 1985; Soichiro Koriyama, 32; and Nahoko Takato, 34. The gunmen also displayed a press card for Koriyama from the weekly newspaper Asahi.

Fadel, the Canadian aid worker, is a 33-year-old who was born in Syrian, the IRC said. He manages a UNICEF-funded program that provides humanitarian assistance for vulnerable children and youth in southern Iraq, the New York-based IRC said in a statement on its web site.

Those activities included the rehabilitation of a youth center, the distribution of wheelchairs to injured children in Najaf and support to local schools, the IRC said.

The South Korean missionaries were stopped by armed men at a checkpoint on a highway from Amman, Jordan, to Baghdad. The eight Koreans were traveling in two cars to attend the opening of a missionary school near the northern city of Mosul, Seoul officials said.

The gunmen dragged seven of the missionaries from the vehicles and seized their passports. The eighth said she escaped when the Iraqi driver of her car drove off before she could get out.

Freed after about nine hours, one of the missionaries, a middle-aged man, told APTN in Baghdad that the captors, who wore masks, treated them well.

"First, I felt insecure, but later they made us feel comfortable and gave us food and drinks," the man said. "I think at first they thought we were linked to U.S. soldiers."

News of the kidnappings of the two Arabs came in video footage from Iranian television, rebroadcast on Israeli television. It shows images of the men's documents, including an Israeli driver's license, a health insurance card and a supermarket card. A U.S. driver's license from the state of Georgia also was displayed.

The men identify themselves as Nabil Razouk, 30, and Ahmed Yassin Tikati, 33.

An uncle of Razouk told AP his nephew had an Israeli passport and worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Razouk is a Christian and is married to a Czech woman, Anton Razouk said.

He pleaded for his nephew's safety in an APTN interview. "I want to tell the Iraqis he is not a spy, not for America and not for Israel," the uncle said. "He is an Arab, a member of the Arab nation, a Palestinian like me living in Jerusalem under Israeli occupation."

Japan has about 530 ground troops in Samawah, part of a total planned deployment of 1,100 soldiers for a mission to purify water and carry out other reconstruction tasks.

About 460 South Korean medics and military engineers have been in Nasiriyah for almost a year. They are to come home after South Korea's planned deployment of 3,600 more troops to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq later this year."

i really think you misunderstand the message of us "liberals." I don't think there's a person in this country who doesn't realize how big of a threat terrorism presents.

Speaking for myself, as opposed to all liberals, I just don't think Bush has chosen the right methods to fight terrorism. That's my issue. I don't want to suport a bunch of (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) terrorists. It's really frustrating that conseratives, i.e., those in gov't or media, state that because we don't go along with the route taken we must like terrorists or don't believe in national security.

i definitely believe in national security and i believe in fighting terrorism. I really, truly believe, though, that Bush's choices are actually putting us more in harm's way I find it irresponsible and it pisses me off. I feel MORE insecure because of his moves. We are probably way more of a target now than we were even a year ago. It isn't gonna get better either. Not pissing off terrorists even more isn't appeasing them in my book. It's just a matter of appearing more diplomatic and less hostile.

Think of it like bar fights: rare is the person I know who gets into them if they don't go looking for em.

I don't know exaclty the route we should take. I'm sure foreign affairs and policy experts could be better at figuring that out. Maybe Bush needs to listen to some of them-other than those he's been listening to the last 2 years.

Whatever Bush's been doing to fight terrorism has left me, for one, feeling more vulnerable to terrorism. I feel pretty angry that Bush has treated a lot of our allies like (*)(*)(*)(*)-that certainly doesn't represent my wishes, or most people in this country, I imagine. The way the US is currently representing itself is disrespectful. Wrong path if we really are interested in keeping ourselves safe. Can you honestly say you feel safer since Bush entered office, JP5? Or more tense?

__________________
God Bless America, and No Place Else

__________________
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

Let's offer a trade:

George Bush for the civilians.

__________________
"What does a former president's son know about the Iraq war anyway?"
-- GW Bush when asked about Ron Reagan's negative comments, 6/25/2004.
www.BushZombie.com

So, it sounds like you come down more on the side of the new leader of Spain. Right? Think he'll really be able to satisfy the terrorists and get them to leave Spain out of all this terrorism stuff?

"The way the U.S. is currently representing itself is disrespectful?" So, let me ask you this: did the terrorists respect us in 1993 when they came into our country and attacked the WTC? Did they respect us in 1998 when they attacked our 2 embassy's? How about when they attacked the Cole? Were all those signs of "respect?" Did they respect us when we "tucked tail and ran" from Somalia in 1993? I don't think so. In fact, that is one event that bin Laden used in training.....saying that the Americans were cowards; they would not stand and fight. So, they now believe that all they have to do is pick off one or two of our military a day, do a little here and a little there, and that those Americans will just tire of it all and run away again. In others words, they think they'll get their way just by being persistent.

And the problem with that Marybeth is that today their excuse for hating America is Iraq.......it was Saudia Arabia and the fact that we were on Arab soils......it was our support for Israel......it's that France declared no headscarves in their schools.......it's that they don't like our cultural they consider sinful.....our movies.....our influence.....and on and on. THEY are the intolerant ones; not us. People can come into our country and worship as they wish. Women are not treted like 3rd class citizens. People are free. It's just the opposite with them. And yet.....WE are the ones at fault here? Somehow, it's "blame America?" I just don't follow that line of reasoning.

If we don't stand up to this now, we will forever be at their mercy. You will no longer be able to go on a cruise in the med.....for fear, as an American you might be kidnapped and/or killed. You won't even really be "free" in your own country. I know that YOU don't want these terrorists and thugs to rule the world. I know that NO Democrat or liberal does.

Oh, and do I feel safer since Bush took office. Yes, I do. I'm still worried. I don't for a minute think all the probllems of terrorism have been solved. I still think something bad could happen. But at LEAST I know that he is now doing everything humanely possible to be on the offensive.

So. What is the answer? And stop tossing in Bush all the time. This problem didn't start with Bush and it won't end when Bush leaves office. I would like a serious answer from you guys.

Middle Eastern Terrorists do no exactly care about taking over the world (I don't think).

Long range answer:

1. Leave the middle to resolve their own differences.
2. Invest seriously in energy saving technology to remove the need for oil

Leave them alone. They are like bees. Don't touch them and they won't sting you.

Now, if you MUST touch them, then kill every last one of them -- wipe them off the face of the earth. This is, of course, not only a point that I disagree with, but one that won't be taken. So, leave them alone. They just want to fight each other -- in case no one's noticed.

IMHO

Short Range Plan:

1. Internationalize war.
2. Leave ASAP.

Look, everyone knows we are the strongest nation on earth and we can nuke any country we wish into oblivion. Why do we need to prove how tough we are? We will not look weak.

__________________
"What does a former president's son know about the Iraq war anyway?"
-- GW Bush when asked about Ron Reagan's negative comments, 6/25/2004.
www.BushZombie.com

There is no need for revenge. We have ravaged the country. I think we've made them miserable enough by killing them, their children and destroying their country. Job well done, let's go.

__________________
"What does a former president's son know about the Iraq war anyway?"
-- GW Bush when asked about Ron Reagan's negative comments, 6/25/2004.
www.BushZombie.com

Am I the President of The United States or Prime Minister of Japan, or a benevolent dictator who control the minds of everyone in the world?

Not respect us? Well in the sense that they hate us and want us dead, yeah I suppose you could call that disrespect. All they have for us is, "Kill the infidels! Allahu akhbar!"
We didn't say we were going to take care of everything on our own right off the bat. We tried to get their support. They wanted to continue with sanctions and give the Oil for Food program a little more time to teach them a lesson. It turns out the UN's Oil for Food program was getting a few of them, rich. The Food wasn't reaching the people it was intended, and terrorists were mocking the UN.

I happen to think we're setting a good example. You attack us, we invade and take you out. I agree, this IS a great country. We ARE the best.
See, here's where I think you assume too much. I don't think every muslim is a radical willing to strap on a bomb to take us out. I think it's a LOT smaller number than you may think. What we have to do is demonstrate a resolve to mete out terror with unprecedented upheaval on them. The leaders who are rigid in their mindset... they need to be taken out. After a while they calm down.

Anyone notice any other noise from the Palestinians since Yassir was taken out? I'm sure they'll come back and bomb another busload of children soon, but they haven't been making good on their promise to start attacking the U.S.
Well you're right about that. The educated ones, the ones who don't have the Koran shoved down their throats so they have it memorized word for word, seem to be more "moderate". I think of it this way... "al Qaeda is to islam as the KKK is to Christianity" Radicalism is too costly for it's own sake. Yes, we need to head them off in the indoctrination department.

__________________
"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."
Ecclesiastes 10:2 (NIV)

No. But you are full of opinions on everything else. You guys seem to "know all the answers" on most subjects. I just wanted you to think about the difficulties the leaders of the world face here with this problem. It's not easy. Especiallly when "leaving them alone" as someone else suggested will NOT result in their leaving us alone.

So Hard Driver......what would YOU do about those 3 that are being threatened by the terrorists to be "burned alive?" Anything? Nothing?