[oceanview]

yeah, they were kidnapped, like Patty Hearst was.

[Cicero]

Oslo syndrome.

[nuconvert]

"We immediately distanced ourselves from the Americans and stuck to the French position,"

"The French position""...we were there to do our work and show the realities of the resistance."

Need we say more? (Moore)

[DTogo]

"We immediately distanced ourselves from the Americans and stuck to the French position,"

This could easily be a quote by Chirac, or any number (majority) of U.N. member nations.

[oldbrowser]

He returned convinced of one thing: America's policy is doomed.

I bet that was also his conviction before he was captured.

[ccmay]

Malbrunot says that these fighters will not give up until the last of them is dead.

So be it. Let's redouble our efforts to kill them. We can be more savage than any cowardly Muslim.

-ccm

[sandbar]

>They thought being French would be the equivalent of a white >flag, a "get out of jail free card" or at least a means of >assuring a timely release. France has long believed that it >has a special relation with the Arab world and that it wields >more leverage than other nations.

Ummm, so what they are saying is that the world should treat these murdering thugs the same way France has so that they can consider irrivelevant as well?

Sounds to me like this guy has been indoctrinated and is a mouthpiece for the terrorists.

[Middle-O-Road]

This is just proof that the War on Terror is an us or them fight.

It's also proof that we can't count on France for anything. If these fools are stupid enough to believe that they are somehow safe from these fanatics even in France, well...

[NordP]

"The experience nearly broke him, but it also offered him stunning insights into the way jihadist groups operate. He returned convinced of one thing: America's policy is doomed..."

Nah....they broke him.

[Mike-o-Matic]

  He returned convinced of one thing: America's policy is doomed.

We're DOOMED!!

[texasflower]

An article posted here not long ago quoted one of these guys as saying he kept hoping to see the Americans so they would be rescued.

I could be wrong, but he may have even said that he was "praying" for the Americans to come.

They hate us with everything they have until they need to be rescued. As usual.

[Malesherbes]

"These people will not surrender...not willing to budge." So what exactly is the French position?

[FreedomPoster]

Remind me why we give journalists for the other side free passage throughout the country?

[rlmorel]

"...he says, they are adamant jihadists, convinced that they are waging war to defend the Muslim faith against the West."

Who says we can't find common ground with our terrorist foes? They want to die for their religion, and we want to kill them.

[formercalifornian]

What's worse, he said, is that in US President George W. Bush, "they have a great partner." Neither side is willing to budge.

He just said they were cruel, they were brutal. But George Bush is supposed to "budge"? George Bush is supposed to appease the cruel ones?

[formercalifornian]

They also have surprisingly strong contacts in Europe

Why is this "surprising"?

[rlmorel]

"..."We had the feeling that our captors were quite proud to negotiate with France, such a big country. "

Big? Gee, they wouldn't have been proud to negotiate with China, India, United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Germany, Egypt, Turkey, Ethiopia, Iran or Thailand?

Somehow they wouldn't get the same thrill out of negotiating with Bangladesh, Egypt or Nigeria, I am sure. It must be the French Mystique. Or maybe the French are just good at negotiating...they have, after all, had lots of experience.

[blinachka]

...and subjected to odd demands -- including that they convert to Islam.

This is what they want from the entire world.

"There was a lot of talk about chief Osama (bin Laden), references to Chechnya and how the Muslim world is fighting the Western world in Chechnya, Pakistan and Afghanistan." Some of the men had been Saddam Hussein loyals -- including one who claimed he was Saddam's personal secretary.

But I thought there was NO CONNECTION between Hussein and al Quaeda! None whatsoever! Isn't that what Barbara Boxer was barking to Dr. Condoleeza Rice just a few days ago?

[American in Israel]

We immediately distanced ourselves from the Americans and stuck to the French position," Malbrunot said Wednesday from his family's home in Paris. The two were taken to a small cell and interrogated for hours by masked men holding guns. "We told them we were French journalists and that we were there to do our work and show the realities of the resistance."

The French position is obviously to surrender and kiss A$$.

[Chgogal]

Here a short cut from Front Page Magazine (January 19, 2005) interviewing this guy."

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=16676

My favorite exchange is below. After trashing the Americans, guess what, well read it and enjoy!

"NP: Were you heavily guarded? Did you ever think of escaping?

M: No. To escape you have to find the right window of opportunity, there wasn’t any. Just once I thought that American soldiers could save us if they wanted to. It was Wednesday, November 10th . The night before there was bombing…no, it was automatic weapons fire from the Americans. And the Iraqis riposted. So they transferred us. We got a flat tire on the way, and I thought, if an American patrol went by…"