“He was on-site Monday and two cars pull up, eight hooded men carrying heavy rifles emerged from the car, quickly overwhelmed his security — which was less than robust — found him, grabbed him . . . threw him in the car and sped off,” said the source.
According to this article, his security was “less than robust”, which is just what I speculated. I hope the man survives, but he should have demanded security that matched his attractiveness as a hostage.
Either our State Department is doing a crappy job of educating and preparing people for the reality on the ground over there, or too many people have the “it won’t happen to me” fallacy bogging down their decision making process. Any trip I might make to Iraq as a civilian would definitely involve my carrying one or several firearms of my own choosing. Otherwise, no go.
If I’m called to go as a soldier, then I’ll be raising hell to make sure I have at least an M-4 with plenty of ammo.
WTF. These people have demonstrated a complete willingness to hold you – yes, you American infidel – down while one of them videos your head being sawed off. Take appropriate security measures. And for God’s sake, don’t allow yourself to be captured. Being blown up and being shot are merciful deaths compared to being held down and cut into two pieces with a rusty piece of crap knife wielded by someone who has surrendered his humanity and reverted back to animal existence.
We’re all flawed, but there are degrees of barbarity I would not want to subject myself too. Always remember, the person most concerned about your health and welfare is you. Take measures while you are healthy enough and free enough to do so.