daniel pearl - Page 2

[quote] Unbeleivable. The HIP thing to do? That's what you think. HIP?!? Grow UP! The man is dead and that is what you come up with? His pregnant wife is left behind and you want to put it on the ones trying to save his life and others because they would not cave and risk the lives of more than just his. Do you actually believe they would have let him go? Even if we met their demands? i am sure you have no fricking clue what his pregnant wife thinks. Nobody wanted him dead, nobody saw it as a sacrifice, and nobody likes what happened. I am at a loss for words... A total loss.... <hr></blockquote>

Hey, calm down

You're interpreting this the wrong way. I'm just extremely shocked at what happened, like eveyone here, and feel it frustrating to be so helpless... That's it. I'm not making a case for the terrorists or against the authorities. There's no need to get so emotional.

I know negotiating with terrorists, especially when they're so unhuman, is not the way to go. I'm just wondering if perhaps there's nothing that could have been done to prevent yet another child losing a parent, this time without even knowing him.

I understand you feeling disgusted and frustrated etc., but fighting with the people on your side without trying to understand what they have to say is not going to solve the issue. Having fatalist unilateral thoughts like "There's nothing we could have done without endangering more lives" does not provide answers.

I'm convinced there are things we can do to both prevent such acts of horror and fight them. I'm also convinced much went on behind the curtain to try and save his life. There's a difference btw the official stance and what happens. That's what I was trying to say.

[quote]There's no need to get so emotional.<hr></blockquote>

I think there's a very serious need to be emotional about this. We have every right, nay, every duty to be emotional about this and all other cases like this. Just becuase there will likely be a lot more killings like this doesn't mean we get to shrug them off as a statistic. That's Stalin's perspective, not a healthy or humane one.

Anyway, once Pearl was kidnapped the most you can do is sniff out where he is and rescue him before they kill him. No point in even talking except to but time. It's fair to say they probably didn't expect their demands to be met and they just wanted to kill him, make him an example. But the real answer to all this is in preventing this stuff from happening in the first place. If that means placing a real "fear of God" into them or making their lives a little more than inconvenient, sobeit.

[quote]I think there's a very serious need to be emotional about this. We have every right, nay, every duty to be emotional about this and all other cases like this. Just becuase there will likely be a lot more killings like this doesn't mean we get to shrug them off as a statistic. That's Stalin's perspective, not a healthy or humane one.<hr></blockquote>

You've taken that quote out of context. I was talking to Noah about something else. Please refrain from doing that again.

I think exemplary measures should be taken against those terrorists when they're found. I hope Muscharraf manages to capture them, and give them what they deserve. I'm confident he will do his best.

Be careful not to hurt yourself walking backwards so fast, SYN.

Not negotiating with hostages is such an old concept and policy I don't know how the word "hip" could be used at all.

(Also, he wasn't a traditional hostage for ransom, he was captured as a "spy" for Israel.)

[quote]Originally posted by SYN:

You've taken that quote out of context. I was talking to Noah about something else.[/QB]<hr></blockquote>

I know, but I wanted to say it.

looking back at my posts perhaps indeed I did word it incorrectly, making allusions instead of clearly stating my opinions. I apologize for that, english is not my first language.

Noah, I don't feel like arguing with you about this, dividing ouselves on petty issues will only help the terrorists. Yet there are a few things that need to be clear:

[quote] It was just one man, and the people trying to save him obviously were not trying hard enough anyhow. <hr></blockquote>

Did I say this? I didn't say the people on the case weren't trying hard enough, I wondered if perhaps there couldn't be anything else that could have been done.

I even said "It's always difficult to deal with such issues" and "I'm convinced there are things we can do to both prevent such acts of horror and fight them. I'm also convinced much went on behind the curtain to try and save his life."

So stop the paranoia.

[quote]you shrug off the death (however unintentionally) as the result of a government doing the 'hip' thing and making it out to be anyone elses problem but the terrorists. then you have the audacity to bring the guys wife into it to back up your point.<hr></blockquote>

I did not shrug of his death as the result of anything, I didn't accuse anyone, I only asked the disturbing questions no one is willing to ask, ie was there nothing else we could have done? What can we learn from this horrible ending?

You're saying I brought his wife in to prove a point, when I didn't, I merely said that all she wanted was having him back alive, she didn't care about anything else. Audacity... I'm not the enemy here.

[quote]And if you know that there is not point in negotiating except to buy time, why would you suggest that as the answer? Hear that beeping noise? Someone is backing up bigtime.<hr></blockquote>

Oh please. Stop the show. I said "I mean sure, there's little we can do to prevent it, but surely negotiations can lead to less deaths?" Which I worded very poorly, I admit, I was using negotiation as a broad word, encompassing the fact that making the terrorists understand that killing innocent people won't get them anything except strong retaliation, perhaps they'd think twice before acting.

[quote]We should make every effort to get our people back to let those SOB's know that our people mean enough to us that if they do this sort of thing they will be hunted like animals for the rest of their lives. And you saying you understand then saying that makes me even more disgusted.<hr></blockquote>

I guess you have to direct your anger at someone, might as well be some one you don't know anything about on an online BB... So I'm not, according to you, able to understand the feelings, because surely I don't feel disgusted. All I want is justice to be made and especially such acts to be prevented in the future. All I'm suggesting is that perhaps there is something we didn't think of that could have saved his or somebody else's life. Upon reading this, you blow off. Fine.

[quote]Well you said it very poorly. <hr></blockquote>

I admit to that, though I don't think what I said needed the emotional response you gave it.

[quote]
And you gained nothing with this post either. Just tried to make me look like the overreacting one, while you were merely taken out of context. <hr></blockquote>

Well you definitely are over-reacting, because I'm on your side, and neither am I defending the terrorists nor am I accusing anyone of what happened. Furthermore, suggesting a bombing of Pakistan is not to rule out, you definitelyÂ*are over-reacting.

I'm having trouble understanding what you've achieved in turning this thread into a bash-fest whereas initially it was just somewhere people, who all felt the same, could try and put in words the desperate feelings that weighed on their hearts, somewhere where we could discuss our failure to understand how a human being could do that to another in the first place, and then how come we couldn't have done anything to prevent it, no matter how hard we tried. We're here to support each other in such moments of interrogation, not throw around accusations and fight amongst ourselves.

[ 02-25-2002: Message edited by: SYN ]</p>

[quote]Originally posted by Scott H.:
<strong>Well? ... ? I hope the US has some balls to "take care of" the ones who did this.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Nobody, but nobody, deserves a gruesome, horrible fate as this. I hope those responsible pay with their lives and I hope it's taken care of in Pakistan by Pakistanis. Mr. Pearl was writing a story, not representing USG. An article I've read said he'd been warned off meeting with these "people" by the SD Regional Security Officer there. So he knew he was going to meet with some bad company.

[quote]Originally posted by Falcon:
<strong>Ah if only we could nuke the entire Middle East. Make the world a lot safer.</strong><hr></blockquote>



PS - That is directed at Falcon

[ 02-26-2002: Message edited by: The Blue Meanie ]</p>

As some of you may know, The Blue Meanie is also a journalist, which makes Daniel Pearl a professional colleague (albeit a distant one). Rest in peace, bro...