By Dave Petteys (dpetteys@comcast.net) "82 Days in Captivity" will be the 11-part account by journalist Jill Carroll about her ordeal in Baghdad earlier this year, starting Monday in the Denver Post. Ahead of the upcoming series, one wonders:
Doesn't it seem that Ms. Carroll did her “captors'” bidding with far too much enthusiasm? Whining vociferously in the videos from behind her headscarf and glasses, scripted and on cue, she hardly conveyed the impression of a person in fear for her life.
Her uneventful release and return, her probable book contract, and her prompt entry onto the speaking circuit all heighten my curiosity into the circumstances of the so-called “kidnapping”. I wouldn’t be surprised if her book and speeches stressed the “humanity and legitimate grievances” of her captors, with the ostensible purpose of promoting “tolerance and understanding” of the terrorists: in other words, aiding and abetting our enemies.
This has the strong odor of a setup. Now that the Marines have apparently apprehended some of Ms. Carroll’s captors, it would be interesting to see what really happened. In an era where Reuters doctors photographs of the war to paint Israel in a more unfavorable light, what’s a little staged kidnapping in the process -- if the agenda of the left wing press can be furthered?