Italy paid 1 million dollar ransom for two women hostages??

[YEM]

Holy shit. If this is true, this is very bad.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3700480.stm

[Maddy McCall]

1. snippet from the article

A senior Italian politician says he believes that a ransom of $1m or more was paid for the release of two female Italian aid workers kidnapped in Iraq.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini has said no money was paid.

But Gustavo Selva, head of the Italian parliament's foreign affairs committee, said the denial was purely "official".

The BBC's Guto Harri in Rome says Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has fuelled the rumours by talking of "a difficult choice which had to be made".

"The young women's life was the most important thing," Mr Selva, a member of the Northern League, one of the parties in Italy's governing coalition, told French RTL radio.

[YEM]

2. As much as I am against this war in Iraq...

This is bullshit. We can not pay off these dirtbags. These are not people you negotiate with.

[Bridget Burke]

4. In a way I agree....

But I'm glad that the Italian government is not letting two aid workers be murdered just to make a point.

[Fuzzy LaRue]

5. Of Course...

this will be little comfort to the next two women who get kidnapped for ransom.

[meegbear]

3. I believe it ...

I find out hard to believe that these groups would take people hostage and then just let them go. I would think the government would be giving something to them for their release.

[nostamj]

6. true or not, REPORTING it is madness

I heard this on CNN or MSNBC first thing this morning... that, while they didn't know if it was true, the word on the street was that it had happened.

expect a SHARP spike in new kidnappings. at $500000 a head, it's going to be too tempting.

[gatorboy]

7. Yep. Iraq will now be the new Mexico City

EOM

[SotarrTheWizard]

8. People ALWAYS forget the ancient wisdom . . .

. . .once you pay the Danegeld, you NEVER get rid of the Dane. . ..