A $4 Million Ransom?

All are fools going into a violent area in the first place. There is no excuse, just let the governments take care of there own to an extent. There was no reason for any of those ppl to be there, except for there own religious agenda, so they could brag later they helped in one way or another. Let governments do the dirty work and ppl of religious faiths should work on there own countries or with countries that REALLY want there help. As for terrorists taking hostages and wanting ransoms and ACTUALLY getting paid, Well the government should charge those church organizations for the ransom tax payers will more than likely be paying back. If those fools werent there in the first place they wouldnt be taken hostage. Cant blame the thugs for taking advantage of a situation. I for one would love nothing more than to take out the Taliban, or any terrorists for that matter, but if you play around in the wrong waters, your going to get bite by a shark eventually.

I???m stunned with the self-righteous attitude of some people in this blog...calling a government and it people traitors for actually doing what any other IS supposed to do ...protect its citizens???. I???d like to remind these "concerned" Americans that their own government is NOW at this very moment negotiating in Iraq with the same insurgents - (as your president calls them, who are actually in their own country) - that they were fighting a few months ago (incidentally these were the guys planting the IED???s that killed the US soldiers) isn???t your government supposed to fight them instead of negotiate with them? Is it ok now to kiss and make up with those people because it now serves your purpose? Even go as far as to provide weapons to them???the way it is every government will act in its OWN best interest.

i agree with everyone who has shared their opinion only because that is our right here in the u.s. but do not make the mistake of thinking our country, our government, our people are clean in times like these. again, let me reiterate, this claim is still only a claim. a claim by a group that kills at random against their own people. a claim that would have made more sense if the taliban had made it at the time of release. 5 months later is suspect. and yes, paying a ransom to terrorists is definitely not a good thing to do because it does fund the insurgents, but rather than just looking into this alleged $4 million, what about how the taliban and insurgents get funded by opium. it's estimated at over $100 million a year. to conner517, read up on the korean war and you'll know the sacrifices that were made and why we have peacekeepers there. and at least korea supported the u.s. when they asked. what about france and some other countries who said no to supporting our country? it's tough to "chose" friends when we sometimes abuse the friendships we already have. in addition, you really can't have 4,000 year history by being cowards. oh and that enemy you speak of, the ones we are fighting, read up on our history with them. to those who say they would never ever pay a ransom for their loved ones, it's easy to take that stance if it's never happened to you. and if it has and you never did to save a friend, a lover, a parent, a child, then why even be apart of life, honestly? also, if you think other countries never pay ransom to other terrorists across the globe, then damn, i really understand the hate you guys have. to wyuno514, as a korean american, you should know the american side of you can say the same thing about any country to a degree especially our own. i mean, even canada can't stand us at times and they're probably one of the friendliest countries, eh.

If it were your sopn, daughter, spouse or whatever who was being held hostage by these unbalanced fanatics wouldn' t you want your government to step in and bring them home safely? C'mon, stop the BS about we never pay ransom to terrorists...there are human lives at stake here.

We have 50,000 troops in South Korea to protect that country. South Korea in turn gives $4 million dollars to the Talaban that they can now be used to kill Americans. When are we going to wake up and chose friends that we can rely on rather than cowards! We make sacrifices, but they make deals with the enemy.
John-Laguna Niguel, CA

Why do we have 50,00 troops in South Kores to protect that country. They did not have the guts to stand up to the Talaban and so money goes to the terrorists to fight the USA.
John-Laguna Niguel, CA

True, the missionaries knew what they were getting into..
but it becomes a national/global problem after they fall into the hands of the Taliban.

My thought is that, because the Christian missionary knew what they were getting into, no ransom should have been paid. It shows how weak the Korean government is when it comes to ointernational issues such as this. Although S. Korea is the 11th largest economy in the world, it seems as if we are the last ones when it comes to politics. It doesn't help when there is internal corruption within the system. Corruption runs rampant: businesses and politics. I am an Korean American living in Seoul, and witness what I have said first hand. If we can't even respect ourselves, how do you think other nations will treat us. Bottom line, the missionary knew what they were getting into, and should have gotten themselves out of it. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a brutal world we live in.

I agree that nationalism is strong in most Asian countries. However, nationalism is a not just a problem only in S. Korea. The principle holds true for many Americans as well. For example, if you have an accent in speaking English because you haven't been in the States that long, most Americans look down upon you. That condescending feeling is so degrading, and if you haven't experienced it you wouldn't really understand the humiliation.

a travesty? are you kidding me? yes our country has always said she firmly stands as a champion of civil rights, equality and justice. but ask any minority who grew up here in the past 40 years and you'll see how firm that stance has been. ask how a muslim how welcomed he or she has felt in this country since 9/11. also, last time i checked, and i could be wrong but s. korea never put their own citizens who were born on her soil in concentration camps as the u.s. did to japanese americans. and if you think that in most cases that justice is served and can be relied upon, that the u.s. has achieved equality, and that children of mixed races do not receive bias here, i really envy you. i wish i had the priviledge of having seen what you have seen. even as a child of the 80's and 90's, growing up in what can be considered diverse areas, i can not even begin to desribe the prejudice for being of asian decent. but anyway, i understand the position lilgemeezy, 2cents, and even magsheen are taking. however, why is your hate not directed at the groups that are carrying out the kidnappings. again, there is no evidence other than a claim by an organization that has used their members to blow up and kill their own country men and citizens, including women and children. and i don't know if you've noticed, kidnappings have gone on for a long time. so even if the claim is true, i'm sure that korea's alleged action here has not fueled kidnappings in the middle east, asia, europe, south america, and africa for this long all by themselves as you guys seem to believe. i know that's a little extreme but that is how i interpret your posts. oh and lilgemeezy, don't forget about will demps, full safety for the ravens back in their superbowl win. he's half/half just like hines ward. only he never denounced half of his heritage due to circumstances that could happen to anyone. his acceptance of that heritage and ultimately forgiving a country he had hated are the main reasons for his prominence. contrary to popular belief, not everyone is looking for prominence, regardless of race or country.

To compare the United States of America to South Korea in the realm of civil rights, equality, leadership, and justice is a travesty. Despite many of her offenses throughout history, America has always stood firm as a champion of civil rights, equality, and justice. To this day there are many hideous acts of preferential treatment and outright racism in the U.S., however, in most cases justice is something that can be relied upon in America. In defense of 2centsworth, the Korean justice system does favor Korean nationals and so does their culture. Nationalism in Korea is a serious and harmful hindrance towards achieving equality in Korea. Children of mixed race don???t stand a chance in Korean society. The only figure who has gained prominence is Hines Ward, and this is only after Koreans have found it beneficial to promote his Korean heritage (ask his mother about that one). I must have heard his name mentioned 30 times by Korean announcers during this past Super Bowl (in which he did not play). Negotiating with terrorist is wrong and there is a reason that many of the world???s leading nations have taken that stance. It encourages terrorist organizations to commit similar acts in the future and monetary compensation further enables them to do so. Although, my heart goes out to the South Korean hostages and their families, they chose to enter a hostile environment and paid the consequences in doing so. If the Korean government did pay $4 million dollars in ransom, they committed a selfish act that only increases the probability of the next group of international aid workers being taken hostage; as we all know South Korean Missionaries will never enter Afghanistan again.

To compare the United States of America to South Korea in the realm of civil rights, equality, leadership, and justice is a travesty. Despite many of her offenses throughout history, America has always stood firm as a champion of civil rights, equality, and justice. To this day there are many hideous acts of preferential treatment and outright racism in the U.S., however, in most cases justice is something that can be relied upon in America. In defense of 2centsworth, the Korean justice system does favor Korean nationals and so does their culture. Nationalism in Korea is a serious and harmful hindrance towards achieving equality in Korea. Children of mixed race don???t stand a chance in Korean society. The only figure who has gained prominence is Hines Ward, and this is only after Koreans have found it beneficial to promote his Korean heritage (ask his mother about that one). I must have heard his name mentioned 30 times by Korean announcers during this past Super Bowl (in which he did not play). Negotiating with terrorist is wrong and there is a reason that many of the world???s leading nations have taken that stance. It encourages terrorist organizations to commit similar acts in the future and monetary compensation further enables them to do so. Although, my heart goes out to the South Korean hostages and their families, they chose to enter a hostile environment and paid the consequences in doing so. If the Korean government did pay $4 million dollars in ransom, they committed a selfish act that only increases the probability of the next group of international aid workers being taken hostage; as we all know South Korean Missionaries will never enter Afghanistan again.

In Korea, ethical standard is far lower than that in the US.

For every single president in South Korea history, once they got removed from power, either they or their close relatives, if not killed, got imprisoned for corruption, bribery, etc. That's a fact.

Cheating and plagiarism is wide spread among South Korean college students. Most of them take is as a part of college. Some professor get accused of plagiarism in their work, but they rarely get punished for that. This is another fact.

In South Korea, they are very leniant against sexual crimes. A child sex molestor gets 3 years or less prison time. It is widely known that male sports coaches in South Korea molest their female students, but they rarely get punished. In a recent Korean news, one anonymous male coach said that sex with his girl students are needed to properly control the girls.

US people just don't realize people in other parts of the world have a very different way of life. And, different can mean something very bad.