douglas wood, page-2

Sorry, banjar.
1. He is not discussed because at the moment we don't know if he's dead or alive.
2. So far as the Iraqi resistance is concerned any foreigner on their land is aiding and abetting the "coalition of thieves and warmongers"
3. I don't think Sharpelle is guilty but even if she is, it is the judicial system of Indonesia that is being discussed, rather than she herself. Whereas, so far as Woods is concerned, there's really nothing to discuss. He certainly knew the risks. He was in there to make big money at the expense of Iraq. The big money came as a direct relationship with the risk.
4. Without making excuses for his captors, they see these people -including security "personell"- as highly expensive parasites whose huge salaries (average of $30k per MONTH) will have to be paid by the Iraqi population, if and when the Yanks have replaced the Iraqi government with American lackeys (or "house arabs") just as the Brits did in India with "house Indians."
5. Our Government seems to be doing a great deal of intervening and compromising (we do not compromise to terrorists! yeah, right) and negotiating (we do not negotiate with terrorists! yeah, right) and much politico-religious manoeuvering. On the contrary, our government is doing quite the contrary for Sharpelle: Lying, staying way back and detatched, not even putting pressure on airlines to present evidence against her conviction. Totally different, duplicitous stance.

There's very little to discuss in the case of Woods. One can sympathise enormously with him and with his family but that's about all. If anything, I'd prefer a comparative analysis of his treatment with that of the Italian operative shot dead by the Yanks.