Jill Carroll statements

When Jill Carroll got released, her captors released a propaganda video of her making several statements that were favorable to her captors and not-so-favorable to the United States, our military and our efforts in Iraq.

I am reluctant to prescribe malice to anyone unless I have a good reason to do so, and it doesn't look like Ms. Carroll spoke with malevolent intent. Rather, it looks like she was doing what she needed to do in order to survive and that she made those statements under duress.

From the Associated Press, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online:

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) -- 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.

As Grehawk points out in this post, this new revelation should make two groups feel silly: conservatives who immediately criticized her without thinking through the context of the situation and liberals who agreed with the comments and jumped on the story as if it proves some point or provides some justification their position.

Be safe, drink water.

Phil