Re: good news? maybe?
- From: "John D" <Wendygem@xxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 19:24:56 -0500
I noted on the news last night that Jack Straw said 2 things that relate to
this thread:
1) Canadian Special Forces and Mounties participated in the rescue
2) This raid had been under development for more than a month.
I guess this is what Peter MacKay was talking about back then.
-JD
"John D" <Wendygem@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1140558338.47391@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MacKay plays down hostage statement
ALEXANDER PANETTA
Canadian Press
Ottawa - Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay moved to play down
expectations that Canadian aid workers held hostage in Iraq are safe and
face imminent release.
Mr. MacKay's cautious tone Tuesday came one day after he expressed
optimism and raised hopes about the fate of two captured Canadians.
He had cited intelligence indicating that the pair were "very much" alive
and had said the government believed they would probably be released.
On Tuesday, however, he said the intelligence in question was a month-old
videotape aired on the Arab network Al-Jazeera.
The four Christian Peacemakers - including two Canadians - were last seen
in a videotape released Jan. 29 but date-stamped eight days earlier.
Their captors threatened to kill them in the video and described their
message as a final warning.
"Sadly, we do not have any more recent information," Mr. MacKay told a
news conference. "That is what leads us to remain optimistic about their
eventual release."
Almost in the same breath, however, he indicated that more information was
indeed trickling in about the hostages.
"Information is coming in, and much of it is based on those videos
themselves," he said. "(There are) things that people are bringing
forward, and we're asking that this information continue to flow."
A Liberal who once worked for the Foreign Affairs Department on the file
said Mr. MacKay invited trouble by publicly discussing the hostage crisis.
It is dangerous to express optimism too boldly, because it gives
kidnappers additional leverage, he said, insisting on anonymity.
Any politician who stakes his own word on the probable release of hostages
could become more desperate to negotiate - and kidnappers might easily
recognize that, he said.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. MacKay told the Canadian Press that the
hostages appeared to have been moved around to "a number of" different
locations by their captors.
He said the latest intelligence appeared to bode well for James Loney of
Toronto, former Montrealer Harmeet Singh Sooden and their U.S. and British
colleagues.
"The most up-to-date information that we have leads us to believe that
there will be - and we remain very optimistic - a safe release of these
individuals," he said in the interview. "We are pursuing all means, with
our allies, to be helpful and supportive to ensure their safe return and
release."
The Christian aid workers were kidnapped Nov. 26.
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