Something Smells Very Fishy

The Simply Appalling blog has a very interesting take on the Australian hostage drama in Iraq.

The author notes that Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said he was not aware that a Sydney-based Muslim cleric had been kidnapped in Iraq until ABC News reported his release last Sunday. He/she then quotes an AP report that "a number of Iraqi-Australians had been kidnapped in the past" and wonders how it is possible that the Australian Government is not aware of such ongoing activity?

He/she then asks a few damn good questions:

Let's go back to the original statement by the Islamic Secret Army, as reported by the Guardian:

"One of our brave brigades ambushed civilian cars belonging to the American army on the motorway from Baghdad to Mosul," the statement said. "It took four prisoners, two Australians and two east Asian nationals who were working as security contractors for important people.

Some points:

Such "security contractors" frequently do not carry passports.

The U.S. Army should know if one of its cars is missing, but has made no statement on the matter of which I am aware.

And some questions:

- Who are the two east Asian nationals?
- Who are the "important people"?
- Could the east Asian nationals be the important people?
- Why isn't the country of the Asians identified?
- Why are there no news reports of any Asian country attempting to confirm a kidnapping of its nationals?

This is a political hot-potato for Prime Minister John Howard, with an election only 3 weeks away. But it is also potentially bad news for George Bush.

It's very strange indeed that the hostage-takers have not made any further announcements.