Do You Agree With Current Government Policy That We Should Not Pay Ransom To Terrorists Despite Other Countries Doing So?

[ladybirder]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/isis-hostage-threat-which-countries-pay-ransoms-to-release-their-citizens-9710129.html

Sorry I've moved this to News where I meant to put it originally.

[nailit]

//If you reward hostage taking, you encourage more kidnappings//

no evidence whatsoever, in fact the opposite. More kidnappings, more evidence to get the kidnappers.

[agchristie]

Nailit,I am assuming that you dont agree with the promises made by umpteen western countries who signed up not to pay ransoms.Cameron has at least been consistent on this.

[nailit]

ag, //Nailit,I am assuming that you dont agree with the promises made by umpteen western countries who signed up not to pay ransoms.//
and umpteen who have paid up in the end?
Got to dissapear for an hour or so but if I dissapear while im out I would like to think that my country would consider my life worth saving, no matter what the cost, but I doubt it.
This government is more concerned about people on benefits....

[ladybirder]

I'd like to see some evidence to back up your assertions nailit please that paying ransoms to terrorists doesn't encourage more ransoms.

Hope you get back home without being kidnapped:-)

[Daffy6543]

I f I were ever kidnapped abroad I would hope that NO RANSOM (whether financial or prisoner swap) would be paid for my release. I would also not want anyone to pay a ransom if any of my loved ones were kidnapped. As much as I would want them back there is no point funding the terrorists. There is also no guarantee that they would release the hostages after securing the ransom.

[sevenOP]

One country accusing another country of paying and onlookers believing everything they are fed..... and the main accusers being the Dogs of War that brought it all about.

[Old_Geezer]

Difficult to think of anything apart from this I can agree with them on.
I suppose no one can get it wrong every time.

[EDDIE51]

Yes I agree.

[ludwig]

Yes. Anyone who's out there knows the risks.

[whirlyhurly]

Well Nailit at last someone with the same viewpoint. At least the French "look after their own".

[ToraToraTora]

yes I agree, we should never pay ransoms, all it does is encourage more hostage taking and funds more terrorism. Gawd knows what drugs nailit is on.

[EDDIE51]

Islamic State get almost all their money by collecting ransoms . If no one had paid ransom they would not exist or at least would be too small to be a real threat.

[Svejk]

Why encourage the foolhardy and the selfish to put themselves in harms way.

[chris1957au]

This has been government policy for many years nothing new in this, but it's got to be hard when it's your family or friend on the other end of the decision, but that said I do agree it's the correct policy.

[kvalidir]

I agree in principle that there should be no ransoms paid, however in practice I'm realistic enough to know that I, and most people actually I think, would move heaven and earth to free their loved ones, including paying a ransom. Sad but true that until it happens to you you don't have a realistic yardstick to accurately judge your response and theoreticals are all fine and dandy but when it's your loved one about to be beheaded who here honestly wouldn't pay a ransom?

[Peter Pedant]

Dates from Maggie Thatcher - in the aftermath of the poltical chaos that followed Aldo Moro's death in Italy - she told the cabinet if any were kidnapped - they were gonna DIE !
and they all said 'oui mon capitaine'

[woofgang]

My late DH used to work for an international multi million firm based in America. Their employees go to very unsavory places in the course of their work but they are (or at least were then) among the safest in the industry for two reasons. The first is that they were protected by paid "employees" of the firm who had very specialist skills and the second was that they would never negotiate with terrorists or pirates. There was little point trying to take their employees as the outcome was likely to be bloody and even if successful, would not turn any kind of profit.
Can I ask seriously why journalists go to these places?

[Svejk]

In the 70s no sooner were one set of hostages successfully 'bargained' for than another set would be kidnapped.

[ladybirder]

kval I am as sure as anyone can be, without actually being in that situation, that I wouldn't, even though it would be a million times your worst nightmare. That's why I posed the question, to see how others felt. Of course I would be hoping that my country would try to rescue me or mine, as the Americans tried but failed to do.

[ladybirder]

I think we have an ex journalist on here woof who I hope will give us an answer to your question. Perhaps Western journalist won't be sent in future and we shall have to rely on those journalists in nearby countries for our information. Will that happen I wonder?