Re: These are not professional terrorists. They are loosely organized and poorly disciplined bandit gangs. Many of them are raw recruits, drawn in since the first round of big ransom payments by the promise of easy money....
Jeez! How dare you call them a bunch of amateurish brats! Keep in mind that these "loosely organized jungle-bums" have allegedly pulled in $15 million so far.... Quite a bundle for dilettante kidnappers. What would have been a professional ransom in your opinion? $1 billion?
BTW, here's what happened when our pussyfooting softies got pushed around by the Philippine authorities:
Abu Sayyaf beheads 2 hostages; killing sparks outrage
By Julie Alipala-Inot
PDI Mindanao Bureau
and Donna S. Cueto
WITH a sharp blade and in cold blood, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded two male hostages yesterday afternoon as a ''birthday gift'' for President Estrada, and in so doing, ''signed their own death warrant.''
The two killed were school teachers who were formerly soldiers, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ahmad Salayuddin told the Inquirer. One was a reservist in the Armed Forces and the other was a retired Army soldier, he said. He also said he would identify the two today.
He said that six Abu Sayyaf members used a barong, a sword-like weapon, to decapitate the two at 3:20 p.m.
''We asked them to kneel and then we asked them to bow their heads, and we immediately beheaded them. There was no ritual because we have done this before to our enemies,'' he said.
Salayuddin, alias Abu Sabaya, said he felt no remorse. ''Their lives were wasted because the government did not act fast and on time,'' he said simply. ''The government could have prevented this.''
The military's reaction was immediate and harsh. ''They have drawn the first blood and signed their own death warrant,'' Armed Forces spokesman Col. Rafael Romero said in Manila.
[...]
''As former soldiers, those who were beheaded were also our enemies,'' Salayuddin said in a local radio interview. The rebels are still holding 28 hostages, mostly children and women, at Camp Abdurajak on Mt. Mahadji in Basilan.
He said that the female captives would be spared. ''We do not kill women. We will just enslave them,'' he said.
[snip]
inquirer.net
The above mug-shot of Abu Sayyaf clearly shows that they're cold-blooded, no-nonsense professionals, and it makes the following French statement on the crisis issue look even more like a cheap face-saver:
Wednesday, September 20 5:49 PM SGT
France thanks Philippines over hostage escape
PARIS, Sept 20 (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine conceded Wednesday that without an offensive by the Philippine army on Muslim rebels, two French journalists they were holding hostage would not have been able to escape.
Reversing France's earlier hostility to the Philippine operation, which President Jacques Chirac had said would endanger the lives of hostages, Vedrine said the escape of Roland Madura and Jean-Jacques Le Garrec had been made possible by the military pressure.
"If the offensive hadn't taken place, we have to have the honesty to recognise that they would still be hostages. They were able to escape thanks to the confusion created by Philippine commandos," Vedrine told Europe 1 radio.
Madura and Le Garrec, both television journalists, escaped from a rebel column as it pushed into dense jungle on the island of Jolo fleeing an army offensive launched on Saturday.
Speaking on LCI television, Vedrine said, "We always told the Philippine authorities that our priority was the safety of the hostages. I think today, it has to be said, we should be grateful."
"President (Joseph) Estrada took account of what we said. He gave instructions to his army, which kept up the pressure... without doing anything irreparable. No doubt that is how (Madura and Le Garrec) were able to escape --taking advantage of the confusion," he said.
Madura's wife, Cecile, described how news of the army offensive on Saturday had come as a "terrible, unexpected blow."
"We were very, very pessimistic, and then last night at 3:15 a.m.Jacques Chirac called me to tell me the good news. It was just astinishing, we were so surprised. We kept saying,'it's not possible, it's not possible'," she said.
Both Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin issued statements expressing their satisfaction at the journalists' escape, and thanking the Philippine authorities.
"It is with joy and relief that France welcomes their liberation," Chirac said. "I have expressed to Joseph Estrada -- who told me personally of their freedom -- the thanks of France."
"This excellent news, which brings to an end the captivity of all the French citizens held in Jolo, gives me deep gladness," Jospin said.
____________________________
LOL! Such a laughable make-believe-cover-up! Obviously, the French authorities were panicking about their two DGSE decoys --Le Garrec and Madura-- who were gonna end up as piggies in the middle of the Jolo shoot-out.... Well, sounds like Abu Sayyaf didn't blow up when Estrada gatecrashed Jolo Circus and agreed to let the French agents kick off.
As regards "A Libyan-French conspiracy would represent a hell of a lot of effort for a very limited payback - the Libyan moment in the sun didn't last long, and will be quickly forgotten"
That might be true from a US viewpoint --no matter how Gadhafi spins it, he'll remain one of America's top bugaboos for a good while.... Yet, in Europe, his Warholian 15-minute fame will likely have a longer-lasting impact and turn out to be the opening to patch things up.... Here's a clue how eager France and Italy are for Lybia:
In a 24-year career at Fiat, Mr. Romiti worked closely with Gianni Agnelli, whose family is the company's biggest shareholder. The two lived through a number of corporate and political dramas, including the controversy in the 1980s when Libya bought a 10 percent stake in Fiat that the company bought back after protests by the United States.
Fiat today is Italy's biggest private employer, with 237,000 workers and annual revenue of around 90 trillion lire ($50 billion).
Mr. Romiti's deputy, managing director Paolo Cantarella, has helped to steer the company toward a turnaround. Fiat is now Europe's third-ranking car maker, after Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co., and commands a 42.8 percent share of the car market in Italy.
Excerpted from:
iht.com
A 10% stake in one of Europe's major car-makers --even Kuwait's Sheik Saad Abdallah al-Salim al-Sabah couldn't pull off such a corporate courtesy! <G> |
