« September 11, 2001 WTC 911 Tapes - Edited and Enhanced | Main | Record-Breaking Rainy Month in Hawaii Ends »

April 2, 2006

Jill Carroll Rejects Statements Made in Iraq

Topics: Iraq

Now protected by the U.S. military and far from Iraq where she had been held hostage, Jill Carroll is strongly disavowing statements she had made during captivity in Iraq and shortly after her release, saying Saturday she had been repeatedly threatened.

(...) "During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. So I agreed," she said in a statement read by her editor in Boston.

(...) "Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not."

(...) "At any rate, fearing retribution from my captors, I did not speak freely. Out of fear, I said I wasn't threatened. In fact, I was threatened many times," ...

(...) "Also, at least two false statements about me have been widely aired: One -- that I refused to travel and cooperate with the U.S. military, and two -- that I refused to discuss my captivity with U.S. officials. Again, neither statement is true."

Few among us would have done differently, and if we did, more likely than not, we would have been killed. So her comments made under duress are perfectly understandable. However, in the days to come, we should learn more about her captivity, and it will be interesting to hear if she continues to speak out against the terrorists.

For now, I'm more than willing to give her some much needed and deserved space, but I can't help but admit that I found the hijab bit to be an annoyance. For awhile there I was begining to think we were witnessing a case of Stockholm syndrome.

However, now that Jill Carroll has been safely released, there is someone that's been mostly forgotten about that deserves our attention. It seems appropriate that more should be said about Alan (pronounced "Elin" in Iraqi Arabic), her translater- as Jill Carroll did Saturday - who did not survive the January kidnapping incident.

A column About her translater was written by Gregg Mitchell more than two months ago, and it describes a man that everyone knew as simply "Alan", or "Elin" as it is pronounced in Iraqi Arabic, and who, prior to the war, owned a music shop in the best area in Baghdad, A'arasat. He use to sell Arabic music and instrumental music, but he had his regular customers - those westernized Iraqis who craved foreign music. Learn more...

Hat tip - The Big Pharoah

Posted by Richard at April 2, 2006 7:58 PM

Articles Related to Iraq:

• Jill Carroll Rejects Statements Made in Iraq - Apr 02, 2006