In Continuum.

Free the Koreans

To understand your enemies, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Sometimes, when they bomb an embassy, kidnap a few reporters, or set off a car bomb in Glasglow, you sort of know where they are coming from. You know why they did whatever they did, you understand but you condemn the act at the same time. After all, we are no longer living in a world whereby such brutalities are going to be tolerated. You don't go around shooting people just because you are not getting what you want; if it works that way then every child in this world with a gun is going to shoot their parents if they are not getting the set of Transformers toys at the local toy store. It is not about the point right now, but about the difference that you are actually making. If bombing twenty embassies is not working, bombing one more is not going to make the difference. So why go on with your old ways of barbarism?

I guess that was what the Taliban idiots had in mind when they kidnapped those poor Koreans. They probably thought to themselves," Well, kidnapping reporters aren't working very well, and no country in the world is releasing any prisoners in exchange for this one reporter. Let's kidnap a whole bunch of people this time and win sympathy votes!" So they went out on morning, broke into a hostel where the Korean volunteers in Afghanistan were staying, and kidnapped all of them in exchange for twenty-one Taliban prisoners. This time, it is no longer about a reporter or an American tourist, but a bunch of volunteers who went over to Afghanistan just to help out with the social conditions.

Like I mentioned before, there are times when you understand why the act of terrorisms are committed. There are people out there who feel that they are suppressed, who feels that nobody is listening to them at all. So they resort to extreme methods of brutality, hoping to gain some attention around the world and have our focus placed on them. However, who really cares about what those terrorists have to say after the chopped off the head of an American soldier, or what he demands the Western world to do after bombing an airport? All we care about is how cruel they were to the poor prisoner, and how reckless they are with their bombs. The truth is - if the terrorists have yet to realize it - that nobody are going to hear you if you are going to throw a tantrum like that.

You have to admit though, it is quite a way to catch the attention of the world media. Even if you are not going to kill any of the hostages, at least the cameras around the world are going to be focused on you now, and you can say whatever you want to say and people are going to hear you somehow - hear, but not listen. That is the problem with terrorism, which the terrorists are not getting very well. When you visit the toy store as a kid, and your parents refuse to buy a toy for you, not a lot of parents are going to give in and buy you that expensive toy at the end. Some parents might, but they are probably not going to do the same over and over, unless they are some billionaires who can afford just about anything in the world. However, if the richest country in the world is not listening to your hissy fits, then I don't suppose a country like Korea is going to do the same either. It is about time those idiots realize that this is not going to work in the modern world, seriously.

Terrorism has been in existence since forever ago. Every time we manage to capture or kill some terrorist, someone else is going to take over him and rise to power once more. Then one of you are going to bomb another building or kill another soldier, and you will get caught or killed again. Then somebody else is going to replace him and rise to power, the cycle goes on and on. You have to realize that those captured comrades in the prisoners are only going to be replaced by somebody else from your country. Your army is going to be replenished in no time, so what's the point of kidnapping those Koreans and taking them hostage? I suppose the Western powers have already realized that the act of terrorism is never going to stop, and the war against terrorism is a lost cause altogether. It is as good as fighting an army of immortals, not because they can never be killed but because there seems to always be more troops being replenished. Neither side is really going to win, so what difference does it make?

Right now, here is the situation. The Afghanistan government wants to use military forces to rescue the hostages; the United States are not exactly supporting the idea, but at the same time they are not going to negotiate with terrorists anytime soon; The Koreans however, are begging for negotiations, really for the lives of these Koreans under custody. The Taliban idiots on the other hand, have been delaying their deadline, and not going to agree to any forms of negotiations unless their demands are met. Of course, if anybody decides to use the military against them, they threaten to kill all the Koreans. So it is a stale-mate now, a standstill on the battle field with both sides not exactly knowing what to do. The lives of the hostages are hanging on the line, and nobody on the outside world is willing to do much for them right now. That is because the terrorists have a demand to be met, and the West has an image to be kept.

I don't expect the United States to say," OK, fine. Here are your prisoners, can you release the prisoners now?" It'd be a slap in the face by their own palms, because all the while they've been trying to fight a war with the exact same people in Afghanistan. To negotiate with them would mean that all those American troops died for nothing, simply because if they can do this now, they could have done it a long time ago without sending in any troops.

To be honest, if you are going to kidnap a host of American soldiers, at least that'd make much more sense. After all, these are the same people that invaded your country a few years ago and toppled the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. But the Koreans were there as volunteers, as people who genuinely cares for the social welfare of the people whom you gave little attention to. These are people not from your country, or from the Middle East, or from countries anywhere near the place. They are all the way from Korea, with their own families, their boyfriends, their girlfriends, their children, their friends. They came to YOUR country when they could have stayed comfortably in their own. Which country doesn't have orphans to take care of? Why should they come to your country to take care of yours? I'm sure they do have their reasons, I'm sure they did whatever they did out of a justified cause. And now you want the world's attention by taking these people into your custody, how clever is that.

Instead of chopping all their heads off, perhaps a change in strategy might work better for you. Release the Koreans, let the world know that you guys still have the room for compassion, for forgiveness. Even if the States are not going to move out of Afghanistan anytime soon, at least might just gain a little bit more support from around the world. Stop doing whatever you are doing under the banner of Islam, because your God is not going to be very happy that you are kidnapping innocent Koreans just to fight your 'holy war'. Free the Koreans now, our perception may just change - you never know.