i just wanted to clear up something that it would be easy to misread from me.
i am not convinced we SHOULD negotiate with terrorists kidnappers, when they say & have used large past ransoms for killing more lives than are taken hostage – that is, in their case, more lives will be saved if we don’t send them 60 million dollars to fund their rocket launchers, guns, bombs, & their terrorist operations as a whole.
my understanding of hostage policy, which i used metaphorically, was something like you give them what they want, but then as soon as you get the hostages back you f– i mean, you capture them, etc. bring them to justice. that may not always be feasible, come to think of it now, tho. that may be a little more movie hostage policy than real life. i would entrust those in charge to determine the optimal general strategy & case-by-case solution — it seems right to me to not fund 300 deaths for to save 1 life, etc.
that is all =)
take care, & my apologies as well as congratulations to the Foleys — my apologies for their loss, but my congratulations on having a great & brave son who risked & ultimately gave his life to better civilization. kudos.
Joe