Kember Freed
 

The British chap who was kidnapped in Iraq a few months ago has been freed in a multinational operation. apparently he is pretty ok, butthe two canadians with him are in hospiral. I wonder if this is related to that big operation the americans set off the other week, or if this is an independent one. Anyway, hope lots of insurgents got pumped full of lead.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/4836218.stm

Re: Kember Freed
 

:crymeariver:

Re: Kember Freed
 

This is good news

One of the Canadian chaps attends my university and a few of my friends have been involved in a few fruitless petitions and rallys.

I don't really understand their reasons for plastering the main quad with flyer's. It didn't seem likely that the kidnappers would ever read them.

They were feeling pretty glum after the American was shot in the head.

Re: Kember Freed
 

It was sad, but edit that to follow GD convention :(


****s sake dace ill never be normal again ill carry that insane phrase till i die

Re: Kember Freed
 

Why were they taken in the first place?

What did the hostage-takers want?

Re: Kember Freed
 

They had been working with the Christian Peacemaker Teams, a group which is opposed to the war in Iraq and has been critical of the treatment of the detainees in U.S. and Iraqi government jails.

The kidnappers wanted all prisoners held by the US and Iraqi government to be freed or they'd kill the hostages.
Perhaps a completely impossible goal, and something they clearly knew was such. I'd say it was just for further bad publiticy and press exposure in the west.


Your views are not going to keep you safe in Iraq, that's for certain.
Even an aid worker for years in Iraq, ipposed to the war, married to an Iraqi, spoke perfect arabic and did nothing but help people all her life in the country.

Re: Kember Freed
 

i have to say one of the few things that I do like about being British is that there's the possibility that if you end up that kind of situation, that the British Government will do everything it can to protect it's citizens, including the use of the army, SAS* etc.

Of course in this case there is a lot of politics surrounding it and you could easily argue that if it wasnt for the fact it looked good politically that the kind of efforts that result in such a rescue would not be made.

But still, as a British citizen I find myself proud of our armed forces in situations like this, maybe just because it's nice to see them doing everything they can to rescue someone in this situation.


* This is being roundly no commented on, but speculation around these things is probably correct.

Re: Kember Freed
 

it was coomented on in this mornings BBC1 news, where they said the SAS had gone in, perhaps they have been told off since then

Re: Kember Freed
 

The Scotsman had some of the details of the rescue:
I wonder if they got warrants first? ;)
Hm, so extreme interrogation techniques may have been used to rescue 'peacemakers' who were kidnapped while in Iraq to protest extreme interrogation techniques.

The gods of irony have been busy this week.

Re: Kember Freed
 

all the information i have tells me that although this was technically a military opperation: no shots were fired and the kidnappers were not present.

We call that an exchange where i come from.

I would not find it easy to follow your rather bizare 'america uses torture, torture was therefore used in this circumstancer, therefore it is ok to use torture' argument.

Re: Kember Freed
 

Theres an interesting little storm in a teacup growing on this one.

Mainly that Kember, and his fellow hostages, and the Pacifist group that they are members of, have point blank refused to thank the soldiers that risked their lives to rescue them in an operation which, if propaganda being spouted by the Foreign Office is to be believed, cost the country seven figures to mount.

I feel a poll coming on

"Should Norman Kember say 'Thank you' For being rescued, even though hes a pacifist who didnt want to be rescued"

Thoughts?

Re: Kember Freed
 

It was stupid of the commanding officer to mention mr kember's failure to say thank you.

I sincerely hope this issue will blow over. It will only reflect badly on the military.

Re: Kember Freed
 

Instead of reflecting badly on a silly, ungrateful old fool who should have taken up fishing instead of sticking his nose in somewhere he shouldn't have been ?

Re: Kember Freed
 

that old fool was a british citizen held under force by foreign powers.

he doesn't need to say thank you.

Re: Kember Freed
 

I was truly shocked when I heard that people were complaining that he wasn't saying thankyou. It's the most absurd news story I have heard in a while, if he said he didn't want to be rescued why on Earth should he thank people for it?

It's interesting to see what happens when someone refuses to do everything the PR machine says, though not particularly encouraging.