S.Korea paid over $20 mln ransom-Taliban (no surprise)

Reuters ^ | 09/01/07 | Saeed Ali Achakzai

[TigerLikesRooster]

vowing to use the funds to buy arms and mount suicide attacks.

They will spend the money for their campaign to drive out foreign aid organization, destabilizing the country. Anything Roh's government is into leads to one disaster or another.

[johnny7]

Dear God... why don’t they just give them our F-16’s?!

[sure_fine]

for $20M they could have hire some black ops and got a bunch of taliban killed too

[TigerLikesRooster]

You are asking too much to commie-worshipping pinkos.:-)

[sinanju]

Nothing so stupid as those who will not learn. I guess Roh thinks he can avoid all harm by staying neutral.

Tell that to Belgium, Luxemborg, Holland, Denmark, etc. circa 1941.

[pnh102]

There ought to be laws against paying ransoms to kidnappers. My other question is, what the heck were 23 civilians doing in Afghanistan anyway?

[blam]

Well?

60 Suspected Afghan Militants Killed

"KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghan police and foreign forces killed around 60 suspected Taliban fighters, many in the region where the insurgents recently released a group of South Korean church workers they had been holding, authorities said Saturday."

[SergeiRachmaninov]

Paying ransom certainly encourages hostage taking.

But I have never been able to get real harsh over a reluctant cave-in. The S.K.'s hung tough for a long time, even after two of their folks had been killed. Sometimes it is just impossible to stick with the wise, long-term view when people are in this kind of a jam.

Remember when the Left used to shriek that Reagan and North "traded arms for hostages?" I never bought into the criticism. Some situations are just so horrible that I just feel sorry for the people who must struggle with them.

[Chode]

do I really have to say it???

[nuconvert]

“South Korea paid Afghanistan’s Taliban more than $20 million (9.9 million pounds) to release 19 missionaries they were holding hostage, a senior insurgent leader said”

They may have paid that, but this information is coming from “a senior insurgent leader”. His statements are self-serving.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

As soon as the hostages were safe, South Korea should have sent thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan with the intent of killing those responsible!

[racing fan]

This is a different world then it was years ago. The good is weak, while evil (Taliban and Islamic Terrorists) is strong.

Too bad this isn’t the good old days when there were real men in charge and things got done. The West is run by a bunch of pansy butt liberals. Bush has gone downhill and has made terrible descisions lately.

[TigerLikesRooster]

I hope you are right, but am not so hopeful, though.

[Oldexpat]

My guess is that some S.Korean company paid for them and will be reimbursed with a sweet heart contract.

[TigerLikesRooster]

I agree. The scenario I suspected is that foreign subsidiaries of major S. Korean corporations send their money to their Mid-East subcontractors, who donate their money to Islamic charity for “children”, which will send the money to helpless children(children w/ AK-47, RPG, and full beard :-)) in Afghanistan through intermediaries.

[nuconvert]

I don’t know if I am right. I just don’t trust info coming from the enemy. And maybe they were paid as part of a set- up to get these Taliban to reveal their location in order to kill them. I don’t know.

[vetsvette]

I don’t know just who to believe here, but the speed with which so many folks seem to accept what the Taliban says at face value does amaze.

South Korea is a long time ally and in many ways has been America’s best friend on the Pacific Rim for decades = assume they’re lying

Taliban is America’s sworn enemy and an actively terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of America and the rest of Western civilization = assume they’re telling the truth

Amazing.

[bugs_dallas]

Resources for more dead coalition soldiers thanks to
South Korea.

Good job guys.

Keep your people out if you can’t deal with the reality
there.

[wolfinator]

South Korea vehemently denies this.