"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Sunday, February 06, 2005

FOUR MORE HOSTAGES TAKEN IN IRAQ ... REAL HOSTAGES!

By Mussab al-Khairalla BAGHDAD (Reuters):

Gunmen abducted four Egyptian telecoms engineers in Baghdad Sunday, underlining the danger haunting Iraq's streets despite its faltering steps toward democracy. The men were seized as they left their house in the west of the capital for work. All are employed by a unit of the Egyptian firm Orascom, which has several contracts in Iraq including one to run Iraqi mobile phone operator Iraqna. "We don't have any more details at this stage," said Shamal Hanafi, an Iraqna spokesman. "It's not clear who was behind it."

The abduction appeared to be part of an attempt by militants to disrupt the rebuilding of Iraq and came two days after the brazen kidnapping of an Italian journalist.

The GI Joe incident was a hoax - perpetrated by ???? we know NOT who. But these kidnappings are real. And come on the heels of the hoax - the jokes about the hoax - and the savage murders of 232 other civilian contractors.

That's why I think kidnapping in Iraq is no laughing matter. Not ever.

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