The taking of hostages is a great cruelty, though for fighters who feel that they have limited ways to strike at an enemy, the seizure and detention of an unarmed individual who is in some way identified with the foe may seem an effective option. It is however very far from being effective. Indeed, hostage taking is very often counterproductive since it brings shame upon those who have perpetrated it. In addition, it does not work. Whatever the anguish that may be produced among citizens, governments simply cannot afford to cave in to the demands of kidnappers.
The Japanese people have been horrified that three aid workers who had come to Iraq only hours earlier should be seized and held. Pictures of these people were then distributed to the world media along with a demand that the Japanese government withdraw its troops from Iraq. Failure to do so would result in the murder of the hostages. Public opinion in Japan, as in other countries which now supply forces to the coalition, was against Washington’s invasion.
But now that the damage has been done, there is a degree of acceptance that their governments are attempting to restore stability and assist Iraqis to pick up the pieces of their lives and resume a normal existence. Though there has been widespread sympathy for the three seized workers, there has also been general support for the Japanese government’s refusal to bow under pressure. The harsh truth is that any government which gives in to blackmail is making it almost certain that more of its citizens will become targets.
Some Spanish voters may have imagined that following their rejection of the pro-Bush government last month in favor of an administration dedicated to withdrawing Spanish troops from the coalition in Iraq, they would not be subject to further outrages such as the Madrid massacre. The apparent discovery of further bombs has shown that hope to have been vain. The Beirut hostage- taking at the height of the Lebanese civil war was as wicked as it was pointless. It made martyrs of the captives who were eventually murdered and heroes of those who survived their captivity. Meanwhile the abductors themselves were regarded with disgust and the cause in which they claimed to act was greatly diminished.
Perhaps those who are holding hostages and threatening to kill them should ask themselves one simple question. How would they react if someone from their community were snatched by the coalition and threatened with death unless they ceased their resistance? Would they comply with the demand or would their resolve be strengthened in their fury and outrage? On current showing, it would be the latter.
