Redstate

By FrauBudgie Posted in Spotlight Blogs | User Blogs — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

There are times in life when you have to respect a person's decision, and then pray for him when the odds run out.

I think this is true of Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. There has been no word on them at all, and I don't have a good feeling about them.

From the ChristianScienceMoniter, via Michelle Malkin:

"...A spokesman for the PRC, or Popular Resistance Committee, an interfactional group that was rumored to be involved in the kidnapping of Centanni and Wiig, denied any involvement.

"We have confirmed many times that foreign journalists are not to be attacked. On the contrary, we should protect them, because they work very hard to reveal the real image of the Palestinians, and what happened really damaged the image of the Palestinians," says Abu Mujahid, a spokesman from the group, using an apparent nickname, which means father of one who wages holy war, or engages in religious struggle. "We have even offered security officials all our means and abilities to finding out who is behind this and to release them..."

Well, they're covering their buttinski's. The problem in Gaza is that there is no control over militant groups' activities. There's also tacit approval of gruesome militant tactics; remember, MamaHamas was voted into office by the citizens in her district.

The other problem is that almost half of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are under the age of 15. For Westerners reading this blog, imagine passing out AK-47's to all the kids at the local teen hangout. If that's hard to get your mind around, then cruise some of the Xanga's or MySpaces, and imagine giving the young authors a bunch of Molotov cocktails.

As to Western journalists covering the Middle East -- it's actually the opportunity of a life-time. When Geraldo Riverez was still embedded with the 101st during the invasion of Iraq, he pointed out that he felt it was the biggest story in his lifetime, and the only one worth covering. Centanni and Wiig seemed to have felt that way about the events in Gaza.

There is plenty of risk -- but there's also the chance of establishing a reputation, writing a book, maybe getting paid for speaking engagements later, and obtaining steady employment for the rest of your life. Steady employment is a rare commodity in the writing profession; it's a highly competitive field. For every reporter that "makes it," there are literally hundreds that don't.

I'm pretty sure that every reporter in the Middle East has weighed the risks against the brass ring of newsworthiness. Unfortunately, the brass ring also includes the possibility of being kidnapped, murdered, shot or beheaded. That's also the risk that our troops and everyday citizens in Iraq, Gaza and Afganistan run every day of their lives, even if they're only trying to do their jobs and live their lives.

With luck, Centanni and Wiig are being held for ransom -- which frankly is the best outcome, and one that Daniel Perl's kidnappers weren't interested in.

Crossposted from RedHotCuppaPolitics http://cuppapolitics.blogspot.com

UPDATE: Check out Mark Kilmer's entry for more on the recently released video on (who knew?) Al Jazeera.http://www.redstate.com/blogs/mark_kilmer/2006/aug/23/jihadists_might_pass_resolution_against_centanni_and_wiig_theyre_alive