President Obama has now proven twice to our enemies in the Middle East that the United States will pay handsomely for the return of its citizens. Of course there was the terrible prisoner swap, where Obama traded five senior Taliban terrorists for one gawky deserter named Bowe Bergdahl.
Then this week, President Obama traded seven Iranians accused of sanctions violations plus $1.7 billion ($400 million debt and $1.3 billion in interest dating to the Islamic revolution), for four Americans.
Clearly the message weâre sending is taking Americans prisoner is profitable. So what can you expect? Exactly. More of the same.
According to the Daily Mail, yesterday The U.S. embassy in Iraq confirmed that several Americans have been kidnapped from the capital city of Baghdad.
Officials at the embassy said they were âworking in full cooperation with Iraqi authorities to locate the missing Americansâ, though gave no further details.
The confirmation comes after Arab news channel Al-Arabiya reported that three contractors had been kidnapped by local militia.
According to the station, sources in the Iraqi capital city told reporters that the trio were abducted in the southern neighborhood of Dora on Sunday.
They were believed to have been with an interpreter, who has also been captured, reports suggest. Their identities and the reason they are in Iraq is not known.
John Kirby, State Department told Daily Mail Online: âWe are aware of reports that American citizens are missing in Iraq.
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the kidnapping. Kidnappings in Iraq have been carried out by ISIS, Shiite militias and criminal gangs often demanding ransom payments or seeking to resolve workplace disputes.
Oh right! This is just âworkplace kidnapping.â
Kind of a coincidence that itâs possibly Shiite militia (sponsored by Iran) who would kidnap Americans a day or so after a $1.7 billion payoff?
You can guess how this one is going to end up at some point in any event. More prisoner exchanges from GITMO? Grisly propaganda videos? Or a big fat check? But this is sadly the consequence of our weakness and our willingness to pay dearly for it.
Source: Allen B. West
