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| Europe |
| Italians fall out of love with 'two Simonas' |
| 2004-10-02 |
| via Tim Blair Italy's adoration of the "two Simonas", the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear. In their first big interviews given since their release in return for a reported $1 million ransom on Tuesday, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, gave their backing to insurgents opposing the allied forces. Miss Pari, when asked why she and her colleague had not asked on their return for the release of other hostages, said: "We didn't know there were any other hostages. No one told us about the British prisoner, nor about the Americans who were beheaded. I say that every life has to be saved, that the right to life is sacred everywhere. If you ask me about terrorism, I'll tell you that there is terrorism and there is resistance. The resistance struggle of people against an occupying force is guaranteed by international law." The women's comments are likely to cause renewed anger in government circles, following their call soon after their release for Italy's peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn. Miss Torretta admitted that was now studying Islam, although she denied that was planning to convert. The two women have also ruffled feathers by thanking Italy's Islamic community for working for their release before thanking the government and the Italian Red Cross. After they were taken hostage on Sept 7, the two Simonas achieved iconic status in Italy and the conservative government and the opposition put aside their differences to work together for the women's release. But as the Turin newspaper La Stampa said yesterday, national unity has been short lived since their arrival home, wearing kaftans and thanking their captors in Arabic for their release before the cameras of the Al-Jazeera stellite television network. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #14 I agree with badanov that this was staged. A silly thing really, but one of the nitwits eyebrows were tweezed and a little too perfect for someone supposedly held hostage... |
| Posted by: jawa 2004-10-02 10:47:05 PM |
| #13 they want to go back to Iraq - so send them. |
| Posted by: 2b 2004-10-02 3:10:15 PM |
| #12 Red-Green alliance has new meaning. Former reds are now making common cause with Islamists. We can expect the EU left to start openly expressing solidarity with the anti-American "resistance" in Iraq. Funding will follow-- if backdoor funding did not already occur in this case... What organization do these jihadettes work for, again? |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-02 2:37:00 PM |
| #11 Next move is the R-Rated Flick, thence down hill. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-10-02 1:06:29 PM |
| #10 Amend my last comment to: Yeah, when camels fly!" |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-02 12:34:53 PM |
| #9 Hey, wait a minute. Maybe they were a part of the 72 dancing virgins. Could happen. ...When cows fly! |
| Posted by: John 2004-10-02 12:31:27 PM |
| #8 European virgins? I don't think so. It's just not done there. Abstinence, that is. Whilst that is true, recall that teenage pregnancy rates in the US are much higher than anywhere in Europe, even though they'vee been falling for some years (and it's also true that the UK's rate is, shamefully, itself the highest in Western Europe). We anglophones haven't got anything to shout about when it comes to issues of sexual responsibility and health (STD rates are higher in the US and UK than continental Europe, too). |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-02 11:27:30 AM |
| #7 badanov: And the women: white, young and relatively easy on the eyes were given the right to keep their heads and if they had it to begin with, their virginity. European virgins? I don't think so. It's just not done there. Abstinence, that is. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-10-02 11:07:29 AM |
| #6 Bulldog, I am thinking that maybe the women agreed to stage the kidnapping to help buddies gain some walking around money. The deal stinks now not just because the Italian government paid the ransom, but because of the events subsequent to their release, the media event on release and now the news that they are studying Islam, etc. And the women: white, young and relatively easy on the eyes were given the right to keep their heads and if they had it to begin with, their virginity. I am probably being overly paranoid, but the deal just stinks to me. My little theory, which is just a theory, is the Italian government doesn't know anything about it, but the opposition could entirely be a participant, and the women definate willing participants. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-10-02 10:00:38 AM |
| #5 Where did the $1,000,000 come from, and when are they going to start paying it off? |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-02 9:39:38 AM |
| #4 Man, this whole sorry episode it truely pathetic! I have to agree with badanov's assesment that the deal was staged. |
| Posted by: RJB in JC MO 2004-10-02 9:37:50 AM |
| #3 Hopefully they'll be recognized as "The Two Idiots" now. |
| Posted by: nada 2004-10-02 9:33:20 AM |
| #2 I'm guessing the kidnappings of these two dhimmis were staged events. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-10-02 8:48:33 AM |
| #1 My prediction: The left will aid an abet the next "AL-Queda" attack in the US. |
| Posted by: legos8 2004-10-02 8:46:07 AM |