CDN Hostage James Loney Rescued by SAS in Iraq

[QV]

vonGarvin - SERT (RCMP), key words - prior to JTF2 

I wonder:  If SERT still had that mandate would they have been used outside of Canada?

Anyone know?

 

[vonGarvin]

vonGarvin - SERT (RCMP), key words - prior to JTF2 

I wonder:  If SERT still had that mandate would they have been used outside of Canada?

Anyone know?

Though I have heard of, and used the acronym "SERT", I didn't know that.  Thanks!

^5

 

[GO!!!]

<knock knock>

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon ma'am, I'm a representative of DFAIT, DND and The Office of the Privy Council, this is for you"

<takes envelope>

"What is it?"

"It is a bill for 12 million dollars, the approximate cost of the co-ordinated effort to locate and rescue the imbeciles from your organisation, Christian Peacemakers, from near certain death. We will also be confiscating all of your passports indefinitely to prevent further unpleasantness"

"Good day"

 

[Flatlanders]

Just so the record is updated - thought you might like to see this post from the Christian Peacemaker Teams website;

March 2006, 9 p.m. ET
    We have been so overwhelmed and overjoyed to have Jim, Harmeet and Norman freed, that we have not adequately thanked the people involved with freeing them, nor remembered those still in captivity. So we offer these paragraphs as the first of several addenda:
    We are grateful to the soldiers who risked their lives to free Jim, Norman and Harmeet. As peacemakers who hold firm to our commitment to nonviolence, we are also deeply grateful that they fired no shots to free our colleagues. We are thankful to all the people who gave of themselves sacrificially to free Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom over the last four months, and those supporters who prayed and wept for our brothers in captivity, for their loved ones and for us, their co-workers.

Whether you agree that they are effective or not (and I think they are a little naive) - its a sincere thank you I think?

 

[Marauder]

They're probably just pissed that the durka-durkas didn't play ball and martyr the other three so they could really put on the holier-than-thou piety. Or even better for them, if their brothers in Jesus got waxed while those big meanie gun loving atheists kicked the door trying to save their sorry hippy arses.

 

[vonGarvin]

<knock knock>

"Hello?"

"Good afternoon ma'am, I'm a representative of DFAIT, DND and The Office of the Privy Council, this is for you"

<takes envelope>

"What is it?"

"It is a bill for 12 million dollars, the approximate cost of the co-ordinated effort to locate and rescue the imbeciles from your organisation, Christian Peacemakers, from near certain death. We will also be confiscating all of your passports indefinitely to prevent further unpleasantness"

"Good day"

Now THAT'S funny!!!!!!! 

Thanks


:rofl:

 

[big bad john]

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/BritishForcesspearheadedIraqHostageReleaseConfirmsReid.htm

British Forces "spearheaded" Iraq hostage release, confirms Reid
23 Mar 06
Defence Secretary John Reid has confirmed that British Armed Forces personnel played a prominent role in the Multinational effort which resulted in the successful rescue of three hostages held in Iraq - Briton Norman Kember and two Canadians.


In a statement to the media shortly before noon on Thursday 23 March 2006, Mr Reid said:

"All I am prepared to tell you is that this was several weeks in the planning, it was an operation that was rolling, in the sense it went on for some time. It finished around 5 am this morning. It involved forces from a number of nations, the multi-national coalition, but it was spearheaded by British troops.

"I'm delighted as I'm sure everyone is for the families of Norman Kember and his colleagues. We remember of course the family of Tom Fox who was killed which reminds us all of the barbarism against which we're fighting.

"Above all I think today is a day just to express our pride in the courage and determination of our British Armed Forces who so often in such difficult circumstances risk their own lives that others may be protected. And in this case it's been successful and I'm delighted for everybody involved.

"I'm not prepared to discuss any other aspects of the operation for reasons that I'm sure you'll perfectly understand."

 

[Devlin]

I have to say I am a little conflicted here. On the one hand it's good to hear that these numpties didn't end up getting beheaded live on Aljazeera. On the other hand if they hadn't gone over there to spread the word...they would not have endangered themselves, gotten their American co-worker killed, and endangered the lives of the troops who had to go in and bail their rear ends out of a pretty tight spot.

I guess we all have our own ways of "changing the world" we live in.

But I have to say if it comes down to flowers or firepower....I'll take firepower any day of the week.

Hey civvies stay in your lane...Certain Canadian journalist who get themselves "kidnapped" you too.

 

[Patrolman]

One thing that I found refreshing about all of this was Jack Laytons response. He said that the bottom line was that two Canadians were free. No nasty comments about Canada being involved in the rescue mission, no questions on why we were in Iraq, no negativity whatsoever. I think most people would have thought he would be all over the Conservatives with questions of why,who, how many, how long, why,why. It is good to see he is just grateful they are free regardless of how the deed was done.

 

[MikeM]

Wait for it...

 

[Rodders]

They're probably just pissed that the durka-durkas didn't play ball and martyr the other three so they could really put on the holier-than-thou piety. Or even better for them, if their brothers in Jesus got waxed while those big meanie gun loving atheists kicked the door trying to save their sorry hippy arses.

Or maybe they're actually grateful.

I sometimes get the sense that there's not a lot of respect for attitudes that aren't military in philosophy here. I mean, I don't hold the same view as these Christian groups, but it's not like they're being subversive.

I certainly support the actions of the military/police forces involved in this matter, and I am certainly not a pacifist. What the heck would I be doing at this board if I were? But not every problem requires a military response. This situation did in my mind, but your condescension and denigration of everything that doesn't fall within your scheme of how the world should be bothers me. Not everything on the right is right, and not everything on the left is wrong. Absolutism is for fools.

I'm not trying to pick a fight. I just get sick of some of the scathing generalizations that are sometimes used on a board that I consider to be probably the most intelligent and ... mature board I visit. I just think the way you've written the above is potentially insulting and very derogatory.

Thanks

 

[GO!!!]

Rodders,

The televised "thank you" on CTV this morning from Christian Peacemakers thanked the soldiers that released these two, and then (once again) condemned the "occupation forces" of the US and the "innocent prisoners" in US jails.

If it had not been for the very military they so despise, they would be dead, yet still they bash, WTF?

What are we to think?

 

[monika]

I think most people would have thought he would be all over the Conservatives with questions of why,who, how many, how long, why,why. It is good to see he is just grateful they are free regardless of how the deed was done.

I've met Layton a couple of times and I am not at all surprised by his response.

 

[gnplummer421]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/23/canadian_role060323.html

This story tells some of the tale. If you read between the lines, JTF2 is/was likely working/embedded with SAS and US Special ops. I say likely because as civilians we do not and should not know, we can only speculate. Maybe some RCMP pers and operatives of CSIS where there as well.

This is all very possible considering that two of the hostages were Canadian. I can only imagine what the treehuggers and bleeding hearts will think of our troops having (maybe) participated in the OP.

Gnplummer

 

[Good2Golf]

vonGarvin - SERT (RCMP), key words - prior to JTF2 

I wonder:  If SERT still had that mandate would they have been used outside of Canada?

Anyone know?

The RCMP Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) was a domestic Tier 1 HR capability only.  Once disbanded in 1993, many members moved on to A Div ERT and/or the EDPS (Embassy, Diplomatic Protection Service) in the local Ottawa area.  Had the unit still been operating today, I highly doubt that they would have conducted an international hostage rescue directly.  On the other hand, I have heard (but not been able to confirm) that the FBI HRT has conducted hostage rescue operations outside of the continental U.S., so it would seem that some nation's domestic national police forces have operated beyond home borders.

Good on all those involved in the Op! 

Cheers,
Duey

 

[monika]

This is all very possible considering that two of the hostages were Canadian. I can only imagine what the treehuggers and bleeding hearts will think of our troops having (maybe) participated in the OP.

This one says 

Not too many hostage situations are resolved without a single shot fired. I don't think it was dumb luck that had them show up when the kidnappers were gone; I think it was someone doing thier homework.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Rodders,

The televised "thank you" on CTV this morning from Christian Peacemakers thanked the soldiers that released these two, and then (once again) condemned the "occupation forces" of the US and the "innocent prisoners" in US jails.

If it had not been for the very military they so despise, they would be dead, yet still they bash, WTF?

What are we to think?

Who said they despise the military? They oppose US presence in Iraq and have concern for those being held illegally.  Where does that become 'despise the military?'  Maybe they do, maybe they don't, I don't know, but one doesn't equate with the other.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/23/canadian_role060323.html

This story tells some of the tale. If you read between the lines, JTF2 is/was likely working/embedded with SAS and US Special ops. I say likely because as civilians we do not and should not know, we can only speculate. Maybe some RCMP pers and operatives of CSIS where there as well.

This is all very possible considering that two of the hostages were Canadian. I can only imagine what the treehuggers and bleeding hearts will think of our troops having (maybe) participated in the OP.

Gnplummer

I think its kind of neat not to ever know of JTF was involved; I hope we never find out.  Wouldn't kill us to have a team which achieves a level of mystique comparable to the Mossad; could be very handy.

 

[a_majoor]

From Mark Styen:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/06_03_19_corner-archive.asp#093206

CHRISTIAN "PEACEMAKER" TEAMS [Mark Steyn]

Kathryn, you let off those pitiful Christian "Peacemaker" Teams way too easily. If you go to their website you'll notice the headline reads: "CELEBRATE THE PEACEMAKERS' RELEASE"

They weren't "released/" They were "rescued" by brave British-US Special Forces risking their lives. If you'd waited for their "release." you'd be celebrating over their corpses and severed heads.

The stunted morality of these Christian "Peacemakers" is apparently boundless. They evidently didn't grasp the lesson of their long capture and the murder of their comrade - that, even if you spend weeks on end with them and even if you agree with them, the jihadists still decline to acknowledge even the most basic common humanity. Even though you're objectively on their side, to the jihad you're still "the other". The late Mr. Fox didn't need to acquire Stockholm Syndrome: he was already on the "insurgents''' side. But they killed him anyway.

That's what it boils down to, every time.

 

[Big Red]

I'm at work and don't have time to dig through Google news archives right now, but I would swear on a tray of Double Doubles that a couple years ago Canada had sent RCMP  and Military Police into Iraq. I don't think anyone should be surprised that Canada had a contingent there.

4 or 5 times I've seen Canadian soldiers in Iraq. I believe they are on exchange.