Reporter's Notebook: Hostage Politics
Thursday, September 09, 2004
By Greg Palkot
?
Reporter's Notebook: Tracking Chalabi
PARIS ? French journalists have been taken hostage while French President Jacques Chirac (search) consorts with a bunch of terrorists? Just what is happening in Paris?
Well, while the first bit about the hostages is certainly true, the second item is more a telling piece of French commentary.
The French have a bitingly satirical TV show called "Les Guignols." In it, puppet caricatures of political figures are lampooned. One of the latest episodes was especially trenchant.
Chirac ? or rather his puppet counterpart ? was shown with terrorists, including Usama bin Laden (search ). They were all offering their support to the French head of state and his efforts to gain the release of the two French journalists held hostage by a radical Islamist group in Iraq.
Needless to say, Chirac was seen to be a bit uncomfortable with his new ?pals.?
In fact, Chirac and Co. recently have used just about every chit and favor they had gathered in the Muslim world over the last several years, including some real eye-openers. No less threatening groups than Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad (search ) have expressed their hope that the French reporters get released. Ditto a bunch of Sunni groups in Iraq not especially predisposed to the multinational forces there.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
By Greg Palkot
?
Reporter's Notebook: Tracking Chalabi
PARIS ? French journalists have been taken hostage while French President Jacques Chirac (search) consorts with a bunch of terrorists? Just what is happening in Paris?
Well, while the first bit about the hostages is certainly true, the second item is more a telling piece of French commentary.
The French have a bitingly satirical TV show called "Les Guignols." In it, puppet caricatures of political figures are lampooned. One of the latest episodes was especially trenchant.
Chirac ? or rather his puppet counterpart ? was shown with terrorists, including Usama bin Laden (search ). They were all offering their support to the French head of state and his efforts to gain the release of the two French journalists held hostage by a radical Islamist group in Iraq.
Needless to say, Chirac was seen to be a bit uncomfortable with his new ?pals.?
In fact, Chirac and Co. recently have used just about every chit and favor they had gathered in the Muslim world over the last several years, including some real eye-openers. No less threatening groups than Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad (search ) have expressed their hope that the French reporters get released. Ditto a bunch of Sunni groups in Iraq not especially predisposed to the multinational forces there.
