It is NOT the responsibility of the US Government, nor the US Military to rescue your ass in a hostile foreign land if you get kidnapped.
Many times when you travel to countries with travel advisories you sign something saying that you realize you are on your own and that the government will not come and get you. I know for a fact that many missionaires working over seas sign such documents.
While this is a horrible incident, I do not think the government should have risked the lives of mulitple military men in an attempt to go and save his butt.
And as far as his wife being pregnant, maybe he should have thought about that a little more before he left.
If this unconfirmed report is true, and we all hope it is not, it's another case of reporters thinking that they expect special respect. It's no different than the case where those reporters couldn't wait to dash from Jalalabad to Kabul and were ambushed and killed on the road.
Neither you nor I would even consider for a moment arranging a meeting with a terrorist group in Pakistan. That would be a good way to get killed.
But I'm sure he thought that no one would dare do anything to a reporter from the Wall Street Journal.
He thought wrong.
The only meetings that should be arranged with terrorists are those that end up with the terrorists getting 72 virgins.
NOW LET THE WORLDS JERKS KNOW OF THE DANGERS OF KILLING ANY AMERICAN. GET EM GEORGE!
The only ironic thing about this is that this "journalist" may inadvertently helped doom the very cash cow he was pursuing.
As for his pregnant wife and unborn child, well, he should have thought more about his family than himself. When we decide to become Fathers, our personal aspirations need to be hung on the wall in deference to the people dependent upon us.
I agree with your opening statement,but if the US gooberment has just been looking for a excuse to go after these people in a serious way,his kidnappying is as good a reson as any other. Plus it also has the advantage of being a "warning shot" to other potential terrorists out there to leave Americans alone.
And as far as his wife being pregnant, maybe he should have thought about that a little more before he left.
He is a arrogant reporter. So is she. They think this puts them in a special catagory where bad things only happen to other people. I DO feel sorry for him and his family,but the truth is if it had been Hay-Raldo,Cryan Bryan Gumball,Kommie Katie,Dizzy Dan,Brokwaw,Jennings,Cronkite,Wallace,Charlie Gibson,or any number of other "journalists" instead of him kidnapped,I'd send them money to keep him.