$8 million from the Commies to the Terrorists

According to this news report from the BBC, $8 million was paid to terrorists to free Italian Newspaper Journalist Giuliana Sgrena, a writer for the Communist Newspaper Il Manifesto. Obviously knowing that the payment would be used to kill more Iraqis and Americans, the Italians decided not to inform the U.S. military about the situation, which eventually lead to the injury of Sgrena and the death of her guard after they tried to run a checkpoint manned by American forces. Sgrena, however, has implied that American forces targeted her deliberately (she has recently bactracked from this claim).

Paying this amount of ransom is ludicrous and moronic. In addition to directly to leading to the deaths of more Americans and Iraqis, the ransom guarantees more kidnappings.

The BBC article trys to rationalize the Ransom:

Had Ms Sgrena's captivity ended with her death, and possibly a gruesome video, the opposition, backed by public opinion, would have had a powerful political weapon to call for an immediate withdrawal.

It is hard to believe that public opinion would collapse because a communist journalist got her head cut off by murderous terrorists. One would think such an act would embolden public opinion to action for fighting terrorists rather than cause the populace to demand more appeasment.

Of course, the Spanish people threw out their reasonable government for chronic appeasers.

Perhaps the BBC knows its European brethren well.