What will happen to the South Korean Christian hostages? Update: 11am Eastern “They are alive”
Update 11am Eastern: Alive for now.
Another deadline has passed. The fate of the 22 remaining South Korean Christian hostages kidnapped by Taliban thugs in Afghanistan remains unclear:
The fate of the remaining 22 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan was not known after the expiry of a Friday noon (3:30 a.m. EDT) deadline by the group. Officials in Ghazni, where the Christian hostages are believed to be held, refused to speak to the media…The Taliban have already killed the leader of the 23 volunteers they snatched from a bus on the main highway south of the capital Kabul last week, but several previous deadlines have passed without them carrying out their threats.
The Taliban spokesman said Afghan authorities had asked for more time after the insurgents presented the government with a list of eight prisoners it wanted released. “The administration of Kabul has asked us to give them till 12 noon today,” spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location.
“We are waiting for them. We have given them a list of eight prisoners and if they are not released we won’t have any other option than to start killing the hostages.”
Chosun reports on the broadcast of one hostage’s voice and plea:
Eight days after the abduction of 23 Koreans in Afghanistan, the voice of one of the young women in the group was heard for the first time on Thursday. “We are in a very difficult time. Please help us,” said a woman who introduced herself as Im Hyun-joo (32), a former nurse from Seoul, in a phone interview with U.S. broadcaster CBS.
Im speaks Dari, an Afghan dialect of Farsi. She spoke Korean and Dari in the interview. “All of us are sick and in very bad condition. We are all pleading for you to help us get out of here as soon as possible. Really, we beg you.” She said she was with 17 other women while the men were being held separately.
The network arranged the interview with a Taliban commander.
Yonhap reports that the body of the slain pastor is expected to arrive in South Korea via a U.S. military base in Bagram.
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Categories: South Korean Christian hostages
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8 days is 8 days to long without a rescue of these innocent people.
We must keep praying for all those held against their will.
Michelle,
I’m hoping that this story, specifically the absence of media coverage of it, will be discussed on The Factor tonight.
If this isn’t an endorsement to continue the war on terror I don’t know what is.
If the left has their way with their demand that we use “diplomacy” against these thugs and murderers, we’ll forever be negotiating in the hope they won’t kill again.
Either we root out these criminals or spend decades bowing to their demands.
I just bet that GOD isn’t too happy right now with anything going on in this world.
Bless those people. I wouldn’t be shocked if they were already deceased.
Couldn’t have said it any better if I tried, Oldguy53.
One of my frustrations is that my wife and in-laws are Korean; and while they and the Korean media find plenty of fault with the Taliban monsters, they also blame the churches that ’sent’ them there. Asians in Korea and Japan have a very pragmatic wisdom and world view for the most part. I could speculate as to why, but when these types of occurrences happen that have almost biblical proportions, they fail to see the big picture, in my opinion. They only see the short term.
I remember the Japanese journalists who were freed in Iraq or Afghanistan, forget which, but when they got back to Japan they were showered with disgust, shame, and were spat on. The Japanese thought these journalists were causing trouble unnecessarily for the coalition essentially and were deeply embarrassed by it. I saw these Japanese journalists as courageous, and heroes having gone through their ordeal, but not to the Japanese. So anyways, I continue my prayers for these courageous Koreans, who must be so pleasing in God’s sight.
May God protect these people and return them safely to their loved ones. Still hoping the power of prayer will help.
I wonder why we haven’t heard more about the treatment of these prisoners, specifically vis-a-vis the Geneva Convention? Surely if we have decided that terrorists are now entitled to these protections though they wear no uniforms, carry no battle flags, and do not carry arms openly, why not Korean missionaries? They have about as much claim on the Convention as do members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Why the lack of outcry for Red Cross packages, daily Bible study, protection from “torture”, abuse, and execution?
I wonder if the outrage on the left can be defined as selective?
Not only is the church receiving unwarranted criticism Schweggie; there have been a few protests by anti-war organizations in Seoul to put the blame on who they claim to be the root source of the conditions that led to the kidnapping, from their perspective. Iran funding and transferring weapons to the Taliban. No, that’s not it. Pakistan’s apathy, and in some quarters, downright succor to the Taliban. Well, that’s bad but… The opium trade funding the Taliban. Not even mentioned in the protests. They put the fundamental blame at, hold your breath: THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Kidnappings per capita
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_kid_percap-crime-kidnappings-per-capita
Yeah, it’s there Berkeley…
Sad, considering the only reason Seoul is not like PyongYang is the US. Sigh. But with that said, I’ve met my fair share of crazy pro-American Koreans. It’s encouraging.
Whenever there is a situation where an Iraqi, Iranian, Saudi or other middle-eastern person or Muslim is either detained, allegedly tortured, captured or whatever, the media is full of responses by their government or organizations such as CAIR.
These hostages are Christian Presbyterians - where is the outcry from the Church leaders? Have they made any pleas? Any comments?
And if they have - where is it repeated in the media coverage? I haven’t seen it.
Looks like the ONLY leg this story has to stand on in the American MSM/blogosphere is here at MM. If it wasn’t for MM and Hotair, I wouldn’t have had a clue there was a MAJOR hostage situation in Afghanistan…
I swear to GOD if I have to endure another story about Britney, Paris, or Lindsey I’m going to check MYSELF into Promises.
Shamefully the left winged ducks quack whenever…as they claim….. mistreatment of those held at Club Gitmo occur, YET……….the silence is deafening, isn’t it?
Protect Illegals/Terrorist but NOT Christians.
They should be sooooooo proud of themselves. Just remember WHO you answer to LIBS when you are dust.
OH, that’s right…I forgot! Most are agnostic/atheist. For the few that aren’t…….SHAME ON YOU!
Okay, you conservatives claim liberals always blame America. But, now, all of you are somehow blaming liberals for this? Last I checked, liberals don’t exactly see eye to eye with the Taliban. It’s not us liberals who want to lower the barriers between church and state and church and science. Oh, well, Sean Hannity doesn’t distinguish liberals and the Taliban, why should any of you?
No, they just would French Kiss each other if they could get cozy enough.
Libs are “in bed” with the enemy MIKEB.
Don’t even attempt to deny it.
In fact, there are some Republicans doing the same thing…..just more LIBS.
Some are aware and some are so naive, they wouldn’t know an enemy if he held a gun to their faces.
Posted on the “hate site” thread:
MikeB, just make your point and leave the insults behind and Rusty will not have to defend you. I would love to debate who is at fault on the church and state issue but that is not what this thred is about.
On Topic: These thugs will get their just rewards and - YES - this is a great reason to continue to fight these people no matter where they are. They were not far from our shores at one time and (dare I say it) are here now.
Last I checked, liberals don’t exactly see eye to eye with the Taliban.
Unfortunatley the U.S. and Afghani governments won’t repond in kind when these animals do this stuff. For every hostage that is killed or even injured for that matter, a village in the taliban held areas should be leveled.
And if this turns out the way we all fear that it will, those 8 prisoners that the taliban wants released should be immediately executed.
Obviously excuting them before the hostages are released would be bad for the hostages, but as soon as a resolution is achieved (either good or bad), the government should respond accordingly.
Force is all these people understand.
davidleerothmann
Nicely put. And who is trying their hardest to make sure our fighting men do time for crimes? Who is doing their best to make sure every conservative who passed gas sideways will do time. The liberals want to fight Americans here and make sure the criminals at GITMO get out. Our men get the heads separated from their bodies and our prisoners at GITMO get attorneys. It is the liberals that want to impeach Bush DURING A TIME OF WAR. I could go on about the liberal side of the isle but that is another debate.
Concerning this thread, it is the liberal media that will leave this one along. We are after all talking about foreign Christians. If our soldiers did this, the MSM would be calling for their heads and would ultimately blame Bush.
David, a lawyer who defends a client in court doesn’t necessarily endorse his client’s political views, but you already know that. All groups should be protected by the Geneva Conventions–the Taliban and victims of the Taliban. Last I checked, most liberals, like most citizens of the US, are Christian and don’t favor execution of Christians.
“All groups should be protected by the Geneva Conventions–the Taliban and victims of the Taliban”
Nevermind that terrorists like the Taliban are specifically excluded from the Geneva Convention right there in the text of the darn thing! Ruse much?
What I’m asking is where is the liberal outcry? Link me to it, please. Kos, Huffapalooza? New Republic? Anyone? Simply show me the same voluminous horror-story reporting about this murder as there was about the flushed Koran or the embarrased terrorists who had panties put on their heads and I’ll vote for Hillary. I’ll even stipulate to the moral equivalency of beheading and summary execution on their side and putting panties on head and Koran desecration on our side.
So how do we go about making sure that happens? Particularly for the victims of the Taliban?
Sorry, David, I missed the last meeting of the vast left wing conspiracy. So, I can’t get Kos, HuffPo to cover this. Maybe they’ll talk about it when MM talks about the fact that Al Gonzalez committed perjury repeatedly. Oh, wait, that would mean MM is covering something important–not her department.
With this level of contact, it should be possible to isolate the location of the Kidnappers.
Just want to make sure here Mike, are we equivocating the attorney general firings with summary executions of Christian ministers by the Taliban in Afghanistan? Just to clarify. I mean, there is only so much material to cover in a blog on a certain day. One does have to prioritize. With that said, I would think the Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan would seemingly be an issue the left and right could gladly come together on, no? And yes I know you’re on board Mike, but others?
Mikeb said,
“Oh, wait, that would mean MM is covering something important–not her department.”
You’re better than going to the Dentist and breathing laughing gas……
I knew I could bait a liberal into making a moral equivalency!! I just knew it!!! I didn’t hear about the Gonzales conviction. I’m pretty sure the Korean Missionary is very actually dead, though.
Flushed Koran:Beheading as Bush:BinLaden
Ok, I get it now. Ready for the LSAT! (Liberal Scholastic Aptitude Test)
On July 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm, MikeB said: “David, a lawyer who defends a client in court doesn’t necessarily endorse his client’s political views, but you already know that.
Is that why the MSM gives front-page stories about the attorney career of Repulicans like Fred Thompson, but never talk about the scheister dealings of someone like John Edwards or Hillary Clinton?
“Oh, wait, that would mean MM is covering something important–not her department.”
Yeah, you’re right. Government sending private citizen info, the Taliban taking and killing innocent Korean missionaries, suspicious stories of military misconduct portrayed in a liberal magazine written by the ultra liberal soldier-husband of a magazine staffer, illegal immigration…. not important.
Disagreement in recollection of events and the inability to fully disclose those events due to classified information ( not perjury ) - is the real story.
Think of it this way:
MichelleMalkin.com - the news that’s unfit for the Main Stream Media.
David Lee–I wasn’t making a “moral equivalency” about the Gonzalez perjury and killing Christian missionaries. I was saying this is an important issue that should be discussed here. As I said on the string about outsourcing DMV records to Mexico…MM places items on this site that she believes are important. Isn’t the fact that the top law enforcement officer in the US committed perjury worth discussing? If Bush was a Dem, you bet MM would be on it like a cheap suit, like white on rice, or like hair on a gorilla. Incidentially, the missionary story has not been mentioned just once, it has been here for three days.
Was that a compliment AJ? But, if you need controlled substances, check with Rush Limbaugh.
Typical. This story has been here for three days. Well, thank GOD somebody thinks it is important enough to give it attention. After all, as you said earlier MikeB, liberals are Christians and they do not want to see Christians get killed - or press coverage.
The liberals I know despise the Taliban as religious extremists. They support the war in Afghanistan and favor incursions into Pakistan if needed to disrupt or kill Bin Laden. They also agree with some paleo-cons that the venture in Iraq was too costly and not in America’s self-interest. I disagree with the liberals on many points, especially the size and role of the federal government but have found their views to be consistently antithetical to theocratic rule.
David Lee–I wasn’t making a “moral equivalency” about the Gonzalez perjury and killing Christian missionaries
Maybe a little one, I enjoy laughing, as far as substances go I have a ton of fruit tree’s in the back yard that get me by.
The MSM and liberals are not interested in this news story because they automatically sympathize with Muslims and dislike Christians. So it is very hard for them to sympathize with the Korean Christians. Instead of trying to destroy Christianity as liberals do with the ACLU, the Korean Christians were actually proselytizing. That makes liberals and the MSM cringe.
When they feel forced to report on the story, they blame the victims instead of the Muslim Taliban for kidnapping them: http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20070727/wl_time/koreanmissionariesdrawfireathome
MikeB said:
Sorry, David, I missed the last meeting of the vast left wing conspiracy. So, I can’t get Kos, HuffPo to cover this. Maybe they’ll talk about it when MM talks about the fact that Al Gonzalez committed perjury repeatedly. Oh, wait, that would mean MM is covering something important–not her department.
That is SO TYPICAL of left-wing arguers… can’t argue on the point, so just SWITCH THE SUBJECT! It is why I have stopped even trying it is p##ssing in the wind. knee-jerk much Mike?
It is truly sad that this isn’t getting more press.
Society needs to straighten its priorities.
walterc 20 5 villages