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March 23, 2006
Hostage rescue
The good news today is that the hostages, taken in Baghdad some months ago - ironically all "peaceniks" and some at least ex-CND - have been released. Equally ironically in an operation lead and executed by an elite unit whose existence is in itself the stuff of legend - and the very antithesis of what the hostages where in Baghdad to protest about.
This is, I suppose, one of the supreme ironies of a "free" society. We are free to decry and denigrate the armed forces and any other "militaristic" service, but when we are in the swamp and the crocodiles start to close in, it is those very people that we expect to put their lives on the line to save us from our own folly. I hope that the hostages will consider carefully their future actions and the impact these may have on our troops and on the future safety of our entire nation. It is one thing to place yourself in harms way on a point of principle, it is another entirely to expect someone to rescue you from the jaws of death at the risk of their own wellbeing and safety when your own folly has placed you there.
I salute the brave men and women of the armed forces who have pulled off this coup against the terrorists. I do not expect it to be the last such venture they will have to undertake, and I can only hope that any future missions go as flawlessly as this one.
The motto of the regiment concerned is "Who dares, wins". It only tells a very small part of the whole story behind their success.
Posted by The Gray Monk at March 23, 2006 04:28 PM
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