Romanians Kidnapped in Iraq Sent Desperate Messages

[NVMojo]

the Iraq situation continues to head to hell in a handbasket but is anyone paying attention in America?

Mar 29, 2005 — By Radu Marinas

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Baghdad managed to send desperate messages to relatives and colleagues before disappearing on Monday, the latest foreigners to be abducted in Iraq.

"We're kidnapped. This is not a joke," one of the three, Prima TV reporters Marie Jeanne Ion, managed to message her mother from her mobile phone, Magdalena Ion told Realitatea TV.

Her cameraman Sorin Miscoci and journalist Ovidiu Ohanesian of the Romania Libera daily newspaper, all on a short reporting trip to Iraq, were also missing, authorities said.

Staunch U.S. supporter Romania set up a crisis center to handle the situation while President Traian Basescu said both local and foreign secret services had been alerted.

more...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=621823

[Journeyman]

1. 26% of the people in a CBS poll today see Iraq as Problem #1. . .

for the U.S. Far and away, more see it as a problem than see any other situation . . . the next closest is economy & jobs at only 15% of the people.

I'd say that's quite a lot of people in America who are following thesituation in Iraq well enough to know at a minimum that it is headed to hell in a handbasket.

The full story is here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1348775

[Judi Lynn]

2. Very, very sad. If they EVER make it out, they should avoid traveling

in a car to the airport. Maybe they could just walk, single file, naked, to preclude any suspicion they are carrying weapons.

From the article:

The news editor of Prima TV, Dan Dumitru, said Ion managed a quick call to her newsroom before disappearing and that he had heard her desperately pleading with her kidnappers.

"I heard Arabic, English and Romanian words shouted," he said. "I heard her imploring the attackers not to kidnap them because they come from a poor country which won't be able to pay the ransom."

Her country really couldn't afford to send the victems soldiers, either: they are simply not powerful enough to tell _Bush to buzz off when he came to collect fuel for his war machine.