Michelle Malkin » Taliban threatens to kill a “few” South Korean Christian hostages…Breaking: One reportedly killed, conflicting reports over whether he died from illness… Did South Korea pay ransom?

Taliban threatens to kill a “few” South Korean Christian hostages…Breaking: One reportedly killed, conflicting reports over whether he died from illness… Did South Korea pay ransom?

By Michelle Malkin • July 25, 2007 07:44 AM

Joshua Stanton at One Free Korea: “Only death cults murder innocents in the names of their gods. This should only deepen the world’s contempt for this gang of cultist thugs, these modern-day Assassins, and be further evidence of the need for us to eradicate it. If Roh Moo Hyun had an ounce of statesmanship in his wrung-out scrotum, he’d publicly promise Hamid Karzai 100 ROK Special Forces for every hostage murdered.”

Update 10:00am Eastern. Christian Post reports, “Korean Evangelical Churches Under Cyber-Attack Amid Hostage Crisis“…”Evangelical churches in Korea are receiving criticism for sending missionaries to Afghanistan, following the recent kidnapping of 23 church volunteers. In one of the world’s most internet-savvy countries, “cybercitizens” have been building up anti-Christian sentiment by posting up insults to victims and their families on blogs and community forums…One popular website, DC Inside, was used by some cybercitizens to boast they had emailed the Taliban calling for them to kill the hostages. The website has now attempted to filter out and remove these postings. Chosun has also reported that the official websites of Saemmul Church in Bundang, the home church of the hostages, and Korea Foundation for World Aid have had to close after being inundated with attacks and insults for sending the Koreans to Afghanistan.”

Update 9:20am Eastern. Did South Korea pay ransom for hostages? South Korean news agency Yonhap reports:

Eight of 23 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan were released late Wednesday, a government official said, amid reports that the South Korean government paid a ransom to the kidnappers. The Taliban had earlier demanded the abductees be exchanged for an equal number of Taliban prisoners.

Whether the Afghan government has agreed to release Taliban prisoners could not be confirmed.

An unidentified Afghan official, however, earlier told Japan’s Kyodo News agency that “huge amounts of money” had been paid to the Taliban for the release of the eight hostages. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a purported spokesman for the Taliban, said the group would first swap eight hostages for the same number of Taliban prisoners, hoping to later exchange a greater number of hostages for prisoners.

The hostages will be moved to a safe zone and will then be flown back to South Korea after a medical check-up. The purported Taliban spokesman earlier said some of the eight were sick, the official said.

Lesson not learned: If you subsidize it, you will get more of it. Blood money begets more blood.

Update: 9:06am Eastern.

One South Korean reportedly killed…

Conflicting reports over whether the male hostage was “sick” or shot dead.

More details: The one murdered South Korean Christian hostage was reportedly shot around 4pm. Eight have apparently been freed and taken to a US base.

Plus: “A German journalist and two Afghans colleagues apparently kidnapped by militants have been freed, an Afghan governor said Wednesday,” AP reports.

***

An update on the hostage crisis that no one seems to care about:

A purported Taliban spokesman said Wednesday that negotiations for the lives of 23 South Korean hostages have stalled and that the militants planned to kill “a few” of the captives.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the militants, said the Afghan government hadn’t responded to any of its demands and that the militants would kill “a few” of the hostages before 2 p.m. (5:30 a.m. EDT). There was no immediate word on their fate after the deadline passed.

Three previous deadlines for the hostages’ lives have passed with no consequences.

“The Taliban have lost their patience with it all so they will be killed … because a lot of time has passed since the deadline and there has been no response,” Ahmadi told The Associated Press by satellite phone. “The Taliban takes no responsibility for the killing.” Though some of Ahmadi’s statements turn out to be true, he also has made repeated false claims, calling into question the reliability of his information.

Ali Shah Ahmadzai, the provincial police chief, said he thought talks had been on a positive track and said the new threat was a surprise. “I don’t know why they’ve suddenly changed their mind,” Ahmadzai said. “My message to the Taliban is to use tolerance and be patient. This (killing hostages) is against the Afghan culture.”

Eighteen of the 23 hostages are women.

Posted in: South Korean Christian hostages

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#1

On July 25th, 2007 at 7:58 am, MikeB said:

Once again, if we “stayed the course” if we “didn’t cut and run” if we “finished the job” we would not have to worry about atrocities commmitted by the Taliban. Instead, we were diverted. We sent troops, advisors, and money to nation build in Iraq (despite W’s election rhetoric that we should not be in that business and he wanted a “humble foreign policy”) because W was convinced he would not make the same (alleged) mistake his dad made in not invading Iraq. There you have it.

Now MM, I would love to hear you justify why cutting and running from Afghanistan was in the US’s or the world’s best interest?
#2

On July 25th, 2007 at 8:14 am, ajmontana said:

la la land time……
#3

On July 25th, 2007 at 8:15 am, evilned said:

Excuse me? Cutting and running from Afghanistan? We have something like 20K troops there, and we never had more then 40K to my knowledge. (Numbers are estimates. I haven’t done a detailed study at this time)

The situation is very different from Iraq, and actually does have one similarity with Vietnam. The Taliboobs are hiding in Pakistan and using it as a safe zone to rest and re-equip.

We could clean out that wretched hive of scum and villainy in Pakistan, (Alert! Star Wars reference!!) but that means invading a nation with nuclear weapons.

Unless Pakistan says we can, we had better be prepared for a heck of a lot worse things then is going on now.

Personally I’m of the opinion we will see the use of Nuclear weapons in battle within the next 10 years.

Just my $.02
#4

On July 25th, 2007 at 8:17 am, reine.de.tout said:

Why are we not hearing about this from the mainstream media? The MSM is becoming increasingly irrelevant - I get the most important news from blogsites such as this one and HotAir, and LGF.
#5

On July 25th, 2007 at 8:18 am, BuckRedington said:

George Bush and almost all other politicians keep telling us that the Taliban and Al Queda and Hamas and Hezbollah and hundreds of other Muslim militant groups and Muslim ‘political movements’ aren’t the real Islam. But look closer and you will know they are the true Islam, the real Islam. They have the verses, the ‘real Islam’ that Bush claims does not. They have the history - Islam has been terrorizing the infidel world and ‘bad’ Muslims who ignore Islam’s verses of jihad and Islam’s history for centuries. Mo quoted many verses from his Allah criticizing Muslims who weren’t into war and the imperialist agenda. In fact, he had harsh words for them and condemned them to endless torment and doom. It is folly and assures our failure to fight a war when the enemy cannot be named. Might hurt some feelings, you know.
#6

On July 25th, 2007 at 8:38 am, gayle said:

The grand ole USA could just get this done in a day if we weren’t so dang politically correct/corrupt.

This is getting old. Blast those creatures and be done with it!

BUSH needs no permission, just order it.
#7

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:01 am, amerpun said:

The Taliban says they killed one. Across on Fox.
#8

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:03 am, gayle said:

One too many.
#9

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:12 am, MrFreeman07 said:

IF all the anti-war protesters and IF all the democrats had backed the President and the US in the war on terrorism no matter what, we wouldn’t be facing a resurgence of these murderous thugs. It’s the appeasement attitude and the “let’s derail anything that Bush does” that has given the Taliban and Al Quaeda their “teeth”. Although MikeB hasn’t come out and said he’s anti-war in his post, I’ll bet he’s right up there with the Bush bashing crowd. Nothing like rooting for a defeated enemy (Taliban, Al Quaeda) and giving them hope.
#10

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:13 am, Schweggie said:

Martyr.

I’m starting to hammer the MSM with emails about their shameful lack of coverage.
#11

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:17 am, ajmontana said:

“militants told him the hostage was sick and couldn’t walk and was therefore shot.” What BS. I’m sure the other hostages would have carried their friend. Hopefully the rest are safe now.
#12

On July 25th, 2007 at 9:42 am, ajmontana said:

And the “teen beat” continues on the MSM.
Gag…
#13

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:02 am, Go_Fish said:

Isn’t the current president of the United Nations a Korean? Why haven’t we heard anything from him?
#14

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:10 am, JWS said:

The MSM has one card to play: islam is a real religion and a religion of peace to boot. If it stops conveying that at any point, the whole sand castle disolves. islam is not a religion-it is a guide to world dominance. If islam is a religion, then so is any coordinated set of rules and regulations-your company’s policy and procedures manual, a police department’s code of conduct…
#15

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:19 am, ThackerAgency said:

I prefer that they don’t ‘cover’ this story. I think I predicted in the HotAir blog a ‘report’ similar to MikeB’s.

This has nothing at all to do with America, and yet, as MikeB states (and the media likely would too) ‘IT’S ALL AMERICA’S FAULT. I think that sounds a lot like the Taliban and Al Qaeda and extremist muslims.

They’ll blame the victims if they do report it. I don’t know if no reporting is better than agenda reporting.
#16

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:19 am, Gabe said:

The Taliban after six years should not have the strength and weaponry to be kidnapping on a large scale. We need to be bombing and killing these people, not appeasing them or being nice to them in the hopes we will change “hearts and minds.”

The MSM will not report this story because they don’t want the average American to know what threat we are facing from Islam.
#17

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:37 am, davidleerothmann said:

“Why are we not hearing about this from the mainstream media?”

Pause and ask yourself quietly, “On whose side would the MSM likely find themselves in this situation?” TV shows and movies routinely portray believing Christians as wild eyed millenialists, child rapists, killers, bigots, racists, and hypocrites. Who do you imagine they feel sympathy for? What do they tell you in the pages of the NYT, the Washington Post, MSNBC? What does Rosie O’Donnell say? That’s your MSM. If your IQ is above room temperature, you know that they are likely more sympathetic to the Taliban kidnappers then their Christian hostages. I’ve never seen anything in the media that would counter that view.
#18

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:38 am, JWS said:

islam is the enemy of America. Start saying it out loud-the MSM will not. If islam is not our enemy, let the so called “moderate muslims” (what the hell does that even mean? If you don’t actually strap on a bomb and kill innocents, you’re ok?) prove it. We should be able to hear hindreds of millions of moderate voices pretty clearly shouldn’t we? Unless those voices stay silent-like they are now…
#19

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:52 am, josetheguerilla said:

MikeB-
NATO has over 35,000 troops from 37 countries and 25 PRT’s in Afganistan. During the Iraq war opponents complained that the U.S. was going it alone. When I was in Iraq, I served in combat, with troops from Spain, Britain, Italy and Kazakhstan just to name few. My point, the opponents to the Global war on Terror Complain when the U.S. “goes it alone”, and complain again when the international community leads the way (NATO). Afghanistan was a SPEC-OPS war from the start. You can’t use the same type of forces or the same number. Thank God the flower children weren’t around during WWII, we would all be speaking German. No matter how we would have fought WWII the nutroots and Trolls would have complained and whined on what ever tactic we used. Again, this thread is about the 18 medical workers who are going to be killed, not your views on the Global War on Terror. This story should be front-page headlines, however MSM types who control the media won’t have it, because they think the Global War on Terror is a bumper sticker. You shouldn’t demand justification for a war that is being fought and won by Marines who give their life for you. MikeB, you blame Bush, NATO, 37 countries, MM, and our honored dead troops before you blame the jihadist. Why don’t you go to a local Mosque, submit and convert today? I’m sure you can find a Burka on sell at your local swap meet.

/s/
José
#20

On July 25th, 2007 at 10:59 am, Laree said:

How Many Troops does the ROC Amry have in Afghanistan? The Bigger question would be the targeting of Missionaries- Christian Missionaires.
#21

On July 25th, 2007 at 11:14 am, MikeB said:

Jose and others, let’s look at the facts, shall we: The “national government” controls only Kabul and nothing more. War lords and the Taliban/al Quida rule the remainder. We, and I mean the US and NATO, could/should have done more to stop them, but we did not. We were able to pressure the Pakistani leadership to support us, we could have applied pressure to let NATO and international forces to finish the job. But, alas, Bush’s fragile ego, religious fervor, and Neo-con brain trust, i.e., a meeting of the mindless, felt we can “give birth” to a New Middle East and create democracy by a gun barrel in Iraq, instead of fighting al Quida and making sure 9/11 would not be repeated.

As far as blaming the US, remember Colin Powell’s Pottery Barn Rule: If you break it, you own it.
#22

On July 25th, 2007 at 11:27 am, Laree said:

Pakistan has stated they don’t want to turn this into a Pashtun War, this is a prominent Tribe, there is a risk of tipping the Pashtun Tribe, entirely in the Talibans favor. This is local Politics, if I was Musharraf, I would be listening to the locals too, this doesn’t just effect USA and Afghanistan. Pakistan is a nuclear capable country, some delicacy in diplomacy is warranted. There are not simple remedies for complicated problems but if some think blaming the current administration helps, have at it.
#23

On July 25th, 2007 at 11:57 am, bipartisancomplainer said:

Mike B seems to be getting crazier and crazier by the day. Are we sure it isn’t Cindy Sheehan posting under his name?

Of course, the truth is we haven’t cut and run in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has a functioning government and military, support of the US and 37 other countries and a tribal population that does not cooperate with the Taliban. And Afghanistan isn’t broken. In fact, it is enjoying its first taste of freedom in 20+ years.
#24

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:02 pm, MikeB said:

BiPartisan, where are your sources for such a rosy picture in Afghanistan? That does not comport with reality. Oh I know, like MM, you believe that if any media reports anything negative about anything related to Iraq or Afghanistan they are biased or left wing. See that’s the problem with many of you, you have a built in belief that telling the truth about our policies is some how biased or unAmerican.
#25

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:05 pm, shooter said:

“Why are we not hearing about this from the mainstream media?”

Even FOX left out the fact that the captured South Koreans are Christians helping the poor.

Whats up with that?
#26

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:07 pm, MikeB said:

Shooter, Fox was too busy reporting on Lindsay Lohan as were the other networks. Fox spent 8% of their coverage on Iraq and 22% on Anna Nichole Smith. What kind of right wing nut network is that?
#27

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:17 pm, bipartisancomplainer said:

Where are the sources that Afghanistan has a functioning government and military? Really? You need a source? LOL! Try google. Do you need a source that countries including the US are currently assisting Afghanistan? Try google again! For information about the assistance that Afghan tribal leaders are offering, working against the Taliban, especially in this Korean hostage situation, try actually reading the articles on this site rather than blindly posting your drivel in the comments.
#28

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:19 pm, bipartisancomplainer said:

Also, since you like to cite works of fiction and op-eds as “facts,” read the Kite Runner so you know what Afghanistan was like under the Taliban vs. how it is today.
#29

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:22 pm, PaKeystoner said:

I wonder if 10 or 20 dead Taliban prisoners for every hostage killed would work?
#30

On July 25th, 2007 at 12:24 pm, shooter said:

MIKE B:
My question was;
A) rhetorical (look it up)
B) Definitely not for you- if I ever want to know anything from you, you will know. ( don’t hold your breath)
#31

On July 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm, Lindsay said:

MikeB,
As an “attorney” you must not be very busy to be hanging out with us. Why don’t you chase a few ambulances and drum up some work? Isn’t there any class action lawsuits you could jump on?
Perhaps the Flying Imams could use you. The lawyers I know don’t have time for blogs. Who are you billing as you blog?

If you want to insult Michelle, why don’t you take it back to Kos or other blogs? You are a bore and I will no longer read your nonsensical blatherings, much less respond to your troll mentality.
#32

On July 25th, 2007 at 2:11 pm, gayle said:

Lindsay, maybe he really meant to say he’s taking paralegal courses at the local community college?
#33

On July 25th, 2007 at 2:17 pm, Lindsay said:

Or he spent the night at a Holiday Inn Express?

Maybe he is Geraldo?
#34

On July 25th, 2007 at 2:28 pm, Lindsay said:

Back to topic after brief troll diversion:

Please keep praying for these missionaries. May they feel the peace of God that transcends all understanding …that will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(Phil 4:7)

And may the pastor who died for his cause rest in peace. I am sure he saw the face of God today.
#35

On July 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm, mattsanchez said:

How does the Taliban expect to win hearts and minds if they keep doing this type of stuff.

And they’re really spoiling that whole “religion of peace” thing.
#36

On July 27th, 2007 at 12:49 pm, MikeB said:

I appreciate Gayle’s and Lindsay’s interest in my professional practice. FYI, my firm’s senior partners are on vacation, so I am taking advantage and giving all of you my pearls of wisdom–don’t you feel special. By the way, I just chased down another ambulance–my Nikes are really doing their job. Ok, so what’s the topic…the Taliban. Last I checked, the Taliban and liberals are not exactly in agreement on any issues and no liberal I know of is in favor of kidnapping or killing innocents. Now go back to Rush who I understand has a new source for his meds.
#37

On July 27th, 2007 at 2:16 pm, Keli said:

Everytime I see that picture of them all smiling it brings tears to my eyes. Maybe it was foolhardy to go there but they went for the best of reasons - completely selfless desire to help others. The best of humanity meets the worst of humanity