As everyone knows, Jill Carroll is on her way home. She has gotten some criticism for statements made immediately after her release.

This was obviously an amateurish attempt at propaganda on the part of the kidnappers.

I also seriously wonder if the military raid that secured the release of the group that was released a few days ago might have left these kidnappers thinking the military might be getting too close for their comfort.

I also think that at some level, the kidnappers decided she was worth more as a propaganda tool than dead. Apparently, they decided that chopping off her head might not serve their cause well.

Ms. Carroll has recanted her statements made immediately after her response. She has thanked the military for their assistance and has made statements about the abuse and threats she suffered at the hands of her kidnappers that undoubtedly more accurately reflect the reality of her situation.

What a horrible experience she has suffered. Can any of us blame her for waiting until she was safely surrounded by our Military Men to let her guard down a bit and start telling what happened.

I certainly can’t blame her. She must have been in fear constantly while she was in captivity. It would take a minute or two to get to feeling a little bit of security.

Bravo Ms. Carroll. Well Done. You survived and you proved yourself to honor your country and our Military. I don’t care what your politics are. I do care that you have shown yourself to have some guts and to be a faithful American. I also care that you assist the Military in gathering intellegence that could help in the rescue of the many others in captivity.

I would hope I would handle myself that well were I to be in a similar situation.

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - Protected by the U.S. military and far from the country where she had been held hostage, Jill Carroll strongly disavowed statements she had made during captivity in Iraq and shortly after her release, saying Saturday she had been repeatedly threatened.

In a video, recorded before she was freed and posted by her captors on an Islamist Web site, Carroll spoke out against the U.S. military presence. But in a statement Saturday, she said the recording was made under threat. Her editor has said three men were pointing guns at her at the time.

“During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. So I agreed,” she said in a statement read by her editor in Boston.

“Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not.”

She further states:

“During my last night in captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and wanted to go home alive. So I agreed,” she said in a statement read by her editor in Boston.

“Things that I was forced to say while captive are now being taken by some as an accurate reflection of my personal views. They are not.”

 And…

“I will not engage in polemics. But let me be clear: I abhor all who kidnap and murder civilians, and my captors are clearly guilty of both crimes,” she said.

source; source

Christian Science Monitor

Others posting on this: Captain’s Quarters; Wizbang; bRight & Early; All things Beautiful; Dr. Sanity; Euphoric Reality; A Blog for All; Gina Cobb; In the Bullpen; The Rolling Barrage; Michelle Malkin; The Liberal Wrong Wing; The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler; Right Wing Nuthouse; Move On and Shut Up