negotiate with kidnappers?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 1:33 pm

what is your opinion of negotiating with kidnappers? to save lives? would it simply escalate the kidnappings?

Merkel defiant over hostage

New German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Wednesday that her government would "not be blackmailed" by Iraqi kidnappers of German archaeologist Susanne Osthoff.

FULL STORY

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:10 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: Tough call... doesn't the FBI have a fairly good record of recovering kidnap victims?i don't know the stats, but yes in the domestic arena, i.e. kidnap for profit.

OpenMind · Post by **OpenMind** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 2:59 pm

This is so difficult, isn't it. If you give in to terrorists, they are likely to go on to murder 100s more. Do we save the few and sacrifice the many?

If we knew their exact location, we might be in a position to take them out. But this could just as easily end up with the hostages being killed.

These people are evil. They do not fight fairly. They do not have any rules and spout religion to suit theirselves. They do not even respect their own government.

Horrific as it may seem. I sometimes feel that it would be best to advice all our citizens to get out and stay out of these countries and then operate a policy of locating and bombing the kidnappers (and consequently the hostages). Let our citizens know that if they are kidnapped, they are on their own. I know, it is horrific to be killing our own citizens - but at least they would die quickly and without public humiliation.

But this policy is also likely to spark a round of terrorist attacks across the globe.

I do not think that there is anything we can do except to keep trying to flush out every terrorist unit in the world. And I wonder exactly what our respective governments are doing about this except passing ludicrous laws. The Iraqi Government seems to be doing very little about it.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:17 pm

on a much smaller scale of course, we have a policy in the prison system that if an officer or civilian is taken hostage, they might as well kiss their butt goodbye....no negotiation will take place. when i am in the jail i have handcuff keys concealed all over my person because inmates will cuff a hostage.

SOJOURNER · Post by **SOJOURNER** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:44 pm

lady cop wrote: on a much smaller scale of course, we have a policy in the prison system that if an officer or civilian is taken hostage, they might as well kiss their butt goodbye....no negotiation will take place. when i am in the jail i have handcuff keys concealed all over my person because inmates will cuff a hostage.

That's a very frightening thought -- they are the ones locked up and yet they could do this................

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 3:49 pm

SOJOURNER wrote: That's a very frightening thought -- they are the ones locked up and yet they could do this................one of our sick little jokes is "what is another name for hostage?" answer, the dead guy. corrections officers are at great risk in many ways day after day. it's a hard unappreciated job that they do to protect the public.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:49 pm

I don't know about prison situations or criminal hostage taking in Western counties, but they do negotiate very often in these international cases, it depends who the kidnappers are, where it is, which terrorist group is involved as they are not all the same, whos on the ground, etc etc, I know the British almost got Ken Bigley out or were on the cusp of a deal, I think the Italians or someone were the brokers, but then the kidnappers changed their mind and beheaded him. I think it must be one of the worst things that can happen to you, I mean if your killed fighting in combat thats one thing, but then to be a helpless captive waiting to probably die, not something I would deal with very well I think.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:53 pm

the horror of the beheading videos has never left me.

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 4:57 pm

I've never seen them, and I don't want to, it would just disturb me.

Valerie100 · Post by **Valerie100** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:01 pm

I say -- do like Mel Gibson did in Ransom, turn the tables and put a bounty on the kidnappers head(s). If you're going to pay good money for something horrid like that, why not see that some good person or people are the ones that profit from it?

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 5:34 pm

Yes, unfortunatly, its a movie, things don't work out so good in real life.

nvalleyvee · Post by **nvalleyvee** » Wed Nov 30, 2005 8:11 pm

I was VERY confused by the pic and then the title. Adult men kidnapped in war is such a different story than portraying a pic of a wife and daughter. These men put themselves in the heart of conflict and terrorists who will do anything to break our stamina as a country, and their families know it. They go there KNOWING they could become martyrs for the American people (oh Americans don't have martyrs ---do they?) - to bolster our belief. Why would any country kidnap anyone who is NOT in the military except to play on our hearts..............MORE TERRORISM.