As nice as it was to hear that Jill Carroll had been released (I guess even the insurgents understand the negative PR resulting from beheading a cute, white woman), it wasn't until watching Meet the Press this morning that I actually heard of the so-called "controversy" regarding her statements made while in captivity:
Protected by the U.S. military and far from the country where she had been held hostage, Jill Carroll strongly disavowed statements she had made during captivity in Iraq and shortly after her release, saying Saturday 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. But in a statement Saturday, she said the recording was made under threat. Her editor has said three men were pointing guns at her at the time.
"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 read by her editor in Boston.
[...]
"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."
I'm sure those criticizing Carroll for her "traitorous" behavior have foreign policy experience reaching all the way back to '80s cinema, where it didn't matter how many Soviet commandos were holding AK-47s to your head, the only statements you should make would be the equivalent of, "Murdoch, I'm coming to get you" before heroically breaking free and single-handedly wiping out an entire battalion.
Me, I'm a sight larger than Jill Carroll (I'm taller than Stallone too, for that matter), and given the same circumstances I'd be only too happy to mouth whatever ridiculous propaganda they placed in front of me. I might even, to quote another '80s icon, "consider makin' up some shit" if it meant I could keep my head and see my family again. If that makes me a traitor, pass the falafel.
As usual, Digby nails it. I have to agree. Put me minutes from freedom, away from people I know will kill me, and I'd say anything they wanted. "Rush is the best band ever. Titanic WAS a good move. American Idol is must-see TV," I'd say.
Shit Pete, isn't everybody who is not a "little person" taller than Stallone?
Yeah, I was pretty amazed and disgusted that almost immediately the media created this "controversy," talking about Stockholm Syndrome and comparing Carroll to Patty Hearst. I kept thinking, just give the poor girl a chance to get home and ask her what was up. Gee, why would anyone doubt the veracity of a tape made of a hostage making nice statements about their captor?