Free Republic

Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, 52, was released in exchange for five Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government - presumably at the behest of Italy - after he had been taken hostage by Taliban fighters 15 days ago in southern Afghanistan. Washington, London, and other European capitals condemned the exchange because it sent "the wrong signal to prospective hostage takers," as a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office put it in an interview with Reuters.The New York Times notes that Italy has a history of paying ransom for the release of hostages: It was widely reported that the former Italian...

The kidnappers of Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, taken hostage in Iraq, have said that they have killed him, Al Jazeera has reported.     The television station said it had received footage showing Mr Baldoni after he had been killed.A group called the Islamic Army in Iraq had claimed to have seized Mr Baldoni, who disappeared near Najaf several days ago.   The kidnappers were calling for Italy to withdraw its 2,700 troops from Iraq, the third largest foreign military contingent in the country, but Italy has refused.    It said it killed Mr Baldoni because of the refusal, Al Jazeera reported.    As well as reporting for Italian newspapers, Mr Baldoni...

<p>May 13, 2004 -- IMAGES are important. That's why America's major TV networks and newspapers have a responsibility to show the full Nick Berg video. Forget Abu Ghraib: Those are the words I've heard most often since the tape of militant Islamists cutting off Berg's head was made public Tuesday - though the first word was seldom forget.</p>

He died, said Franco Frattini, Italy's Foreign Minister, like a hero. With his captors pointing their guns at him, Fabrizio Quattrocchi groped for the hood strapped around his head and tried to rip it off. "I'll show you how an Italian dies," he screamed at them. Then they shot him. He was the first hostage to die since the spate of abductions began last week: executed in cold blood, a bullet to the nape of the neck, in retribution, the "Green Brigades of the Prophet" declared in a statement, because "your Prime Minister says that the withdrawal of the Italian...

<p>April 16, 2004 -- The Italian troops risking their lives in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led Coalition have fought with great skill and courage, and are a credit to the Italian nation, but even their valor pales before the bravery of Fabrizio Quattrocchi. He was the Italian hostage (one of four kidnapped by Iraqi Arab bandits) who was brutally murdered on Wednesday.</p>

Amid all the talk about European 'appeasement', it's worth reading this extract from a Reuters story: "ROME, April 15 (Reuters) -...Fabrizio Quattrocchi, one of four Italian security guards abducted [in Iraq] earlier this week, was shot dead on Wednesday after Italy refused to bow to the kidnappers' demands that it withdraw its troops from Iraq. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said a video recording of the killing showed that Quattrocchi was hooded when his kidnappers put a gun to his head. "When the murderers were pointing a pistol at him, this man tried to take off his hood and shouted:...