Ex-Hostage Jill Carroll Arrives in U.S.

Associated Press ^ | 4/2/06 | GLEN JOHNSON

[TexKat]

BOSTON - Jill Carroll, the U.S. journalist held hostage for 82 days in Iraq, returned to the United States on Sunday aboard a commercial flight to Boston.

The 28-year-old was accompanied on the Lufthansa flight by a colleague from her employer, the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor, according to reporters on the plane.

Carroll declined to comment while on the flight. She left the airport in a black limousine escorted by state police. Her destination was unknown.

She was released Thursday after nearly three months in captivity. She was seized Jan. 7 in western Baghdad by gunmen who killed her Iraqi translator while the two were on the way to meet a Sunni Arab official in one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods.

Carroll left the Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany on Saturday after arriving from Balad Air Base in Baghdad. She strongly disavowed statements she had made during captivity in Iraq and shortly after her release, saying 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. On Saturday, she said the recording was made under duress.

"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.

"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."

Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., who was held prisoner for more than five years during the Vietnam War, on Sunday said Carroll found herself in "a terrible, terrible position" and said Americans should view her taped statements critical of the U.S. military presence in Iraq in that context.

"We are glad she's home. We understand when you're held a captive in that situation that you do things under duress. God bless her, and we're glad she's home," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

McCain said he would not take seriously anything Carroll said while she was being held captive.

"I would not take them seriously, I would not any more than we took seriously other tapes and things that were done in other prison situations, including the Vietnam War," McCain said.

Carroll, who has studied Arabic, attracted a huge amount of sympathy during her ordeal, and a wide variety of groups in the Middle East, including the Islamic militant group Hamas, appealed for her release.

Aside from the short interview aired on Iraqi television upon her release, Carroll had otherwise not shown herself in public prior to a brief appearance Saturday.

The kidnappers, calling themselves the Revenge Brigades, had demanded the release of all female detainees in Iraq by Feb. 26 or Carroll would be killed. U.S. officials did release some female detainees at the time, but said it had nothing to do with the demands.

In the statement, Carroll also disavowed an interview she gave to the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni Arab organization in whose offices she was dropped off upon her release. She said the party had promised her the interview would not be aired "and broke their word."

"At any rate, fearing retribution from my captors, I did not speak freely. Out of fear, I said I wasn't threatened. In fact, I was threatened many times," she said. "Also, at least two false statements about me have been widely aired: One — that I refused to travel and cooperate with the U.S. military, and two — that I refused to discuss my captivity with U.S. officials. Again, neither statement is true."

The remarks have drawn criticism from conservative bloggers and commentators, but the Monitor said "Carroll did what many hostage experts and past captives would have urged her to do: Give the men who held the power of life and death over her what they wanted."

Carroll has said her kidnappers confined her to a small, soundproof room with frosted, opaque windows.

In her statement Saturday, she condemned her captors, although she did not address the war in Iraq.

"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.

Carroll thanked those who had helped secure her release and said she wanted time to recover.

"This has been a taxing 12 weeks for me and for my family," she said. "Please allow us some quiet time alone, together."

[Thunder90]

That is a discrace to BDU's

[TexKat]

"

Freed U.S. hostage Jill Carroll (L) is greeted by family members, including her sister Katie (C), and parents Jim (UNSEEN) and Mary Beth Carroll after the freelance journalist returned to Boston, Massachusetts, April 2, 2006. Carroll, 28, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor held captive in Iraq for 82 days, returned home to the U.S. on Sunday for a reunion with her family whose emotional appeals rallied a global campaign for her freedom. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Melanie Stetson Freeman/Christian Science Monitor/Handout

"

Freed hostage Jill Carroll (L) is embraced by her father, Jim Carroll, as the freelance journalist was greeted by family members after her return to Boston, Massachusetts April 2, 2006. Jill Carroll, 28, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor held captive in Iraq for 82 days, returned home to the U.S. on Sunday for a reunion with her family whose emotional appeals rallied a global campaign for her freedom. The hand of Jill's sister, Katie, is seen touching her hair. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Melanie Stetson Freeman/Christian Science Monitor/Handout

"

Freed U.S. hostage Jill Carroll (L) is greeted by family members, including her sister Katie, and parents Jim and Mary Beth Carroll after the freelance journalist returned to Boston, Massachusetts, April 2, 2006. Carroll, 28, a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor held captive in Iraq for 82 days, returned home to the U.S. on Sunday for a reunion with her family whose emotional appeals rallied a global campaign for her freedom. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Melanie Stetson Freeman/Christian Science Monitor/Handout

"

(L-R) Jim Carroll (with video camera), sister Katie Carroll, and Mary Beth Carroll look out the window to see Jill Carroll arrive after a flight from Germany in Boston, Massachusetts April 2, 2006. Jill Carroll, the American journalist held captive in Iraq for 82 days, returned home to the United States Sunday for a reunion with her family. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY NO SALES NO ARCHIVES REUTERS/Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/Handout

[Getsmart64]

After watching Fox news....they make her out to be the next American hero....what a bunch of crap the media is making of her...she's damn lucky that her head wasn't cut off or she was sold into slavery....maybe the whole kidnapping was a fraud and it was some of her non muslim buddies pulling a prank...she'll be the next Cindy Sheehan....I'm frankly getting tired of it...but I'm just an American citizen with no control of my country...

[rockabyebaby]

McCain was in 'Nam? Who knew.

Are you SERIES???? This is HUGH!!!! Rumor has it that gigilo was in Nam, wasn't he somewhere over there one Christmas eve? LOL!

[rockabyebaby]

After watching Fox news....they make her out to be the next American hero....what a bunch of crap the media is making of her...she's damn lucky that her head wasn't cut off or she was sold into slavery....maybe the whole kidnapping was a fraud and it was some of her non muslim buddies pulling a prank...she'll be the next Cindy Sheehan....I'm frankly getting tired of it...but I'm just an American citizen with no control of my country...

Well put! When she landed here in Boston the local stations pre-empted programming to show the plane landing and then showed the entourage including State Police flashing lights escort, etc. as she made her way to the CSM headquarters. IMO her 15 minutes is up.

[albee]

"I wonder if she got the jacket from the US military? A die-hard America hater would not be seen in something like that."

With liberal elites, comfort comes before principle. John Kerry is a good example for this Whiner to follow.

She is a Rachel Corrie America-Hater wannabee.....only without Rachel's balls.

[jla]

...And clean up your room.

1/2 Texas fillie boisterousness
+
1/2 Virginia gentlewoman admonition
= Miss Allegra

Sam Houston and Thomas J would be very proud.

[Hank Rearden]

So when does the (yawn) book tour commence?

[Krodg]

she has now publicly retracted everything those thugs made her say.

What thugs made her write her previous articles?

[plain talk]

Thanks for the clarification in Post #71. It is difficult to discuss things like this on the internet without people jumping to the wrong conclusions so easily.

[ishabibble]

Well, OK...I was hoping for that set of steak knives!

[Hildy]

I truly don't understand why there are some here who refuse to believe that a woman, in fear for her life, would say anything to make sure she wouldn't die. Why are people here so damn vicious.

[rfreedom4u]

Of course Kerry was in 'Nam. Didn't you hear about all the war crimes he committed and how he almost single-handedly won that war?

Psst. He even won medals.

[Aaron0617]

TexKat!!! thanks for the photos. Actually I also want to give props to Jill Carroll and her family for allowing them to be taken.

Jill is certainly no Bob Woodruff. (someone earlier on the thread asked why we haven't seen any pictures of him)

[NewLand]

She will only get more airtime now to speak ill of US policy, regardless of her statement that her captors were just criminals

Unfortunately, I believe you are correct. And, since she is a 'veteran' that 'can't be questioned'...the MSM will beat this into the ground until she is deemed no longer 'useful' to their cause.

Hope we're wrong, but I doubt it.

[weegee]

What I don't understand is why the media was so quick to champion the terrorists and why they aren't being examined mroe closely in light of her retraction.

[2rightsleftcoast]

I'm with you.

[2rightsleftcoast]

Personally, I would rather see soldiers getting a private limo ride home escorted by the police.
Maybe it's just me. Flown out of Iraq by the people she just denounced on tape, is allowed to disembark BEFORE THE WOUNDED SOLDIERS,first class flight home, limo, etc.
All this because she decided to go to Iraq alone. Not for her job, if I am not mistaken, she was not officially working, just looking for a story.

[Revolting cat!]

Please see the troubling (and at this point unverified) post # 131 here.

[BamaGirl]

Who's John Kerry?