Dudes... You Weren't Supposed To Say Anything

(I'm guessing, as it could be somebody else who did it, but it seems that...) Fox News paid a ransom of $2 million to Palestinian terrorists a few months back to secure the release of their reporter, Steve Centanni, and his cameraman, Olaf Wiig.

That kind of thing is obviously a judgement call that one may or may not support: Meeting criminals' demands to secure hostages' release. I assume opinions would range from those who vehemently disapprove of such action to those who cautiously support it as long as it saves the hostages' lives.

That is, of course, until the terrorists go and tell the press exactly what they did with the money, and then gleefully report how happy they are to have... uh... found this new source of income and look forward to many more such business deals in the future.

The terror leader, from the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, said his organization's share of the money was used to purchase weapons, which he said would be utilized "to hit the Zionists."

He said he expects the payments for Centanni and Wiig's freedom will encourage Palestinian groups to carry out further kidnappings.

He said the largest portion of the money was provided to the Committees' Dugmash clan, which Israeli security officials say is heavily involved in the smuggling of weapons and drugs into Gaza and which openly has led anti-Israel terror attacks on behalf of the Popular Resistance Committees. The Committees leader would not provide the exact sum transferred to the clan, but said it exceeded $1 million.

I think it sucks most for Misters Centanni and Wiig, who can now have no doubts that their lives were exchanged at what will likely be the cost of others. It's just wrong to have to know something like that. Well, it's harder to ponder what the alternatives to one's freedom would have been, I suppose.

I can't judge Fox News (assuming it was them and not somebody acting without their permission) on this subject one way or the other to tell the truth. If it were my friends' lives on the line, I'd have a pretty tough time not taking action to save them if I could, even with the collossal distaste of knowing that any money I paid might be used to make things worse for other people down the road.

I just pray to God that I wouldn't have to face the families of those other people down the road and explain myself.