Just my initial reaction...
Apparently, Islamists scored some points by their raid and attempted hostage taking at an oil and gas plant in Algeria. One, they produced thirty odd martyrs who are now happily dwelling in the next world. Two, they demonstrated what they were capable of. Three, their profile has significantly increased.
I have been glued to Syrian and Mali situations for the past fortnight, but, what is really annoying is that the civil war in Mali has been ignored by national media here in Japan. Apparently, in Norway, they suffer from a similar lack of interest. Now suddenly, they've learned that their fellow countrymen are woking in the remote desert in Algeria and got entangled in struggle against international terrorism.
Now, as this latest tragedy unfolds, they can no longer keep ignoring the ongoing war in Mali and the fragile security situation in Algeria. Isn't this sort of publicity what Al Qaeda wanted? So long as the media's practice of following big explosions only continues, terrorists will keep trying to produce just such bangs. In other words, the media's selective process and rating-based criteria for what constitute news might be partially responsible for what has happened in some small way.
I don't think the decision by the Algerian government to go in to free the hostages was wrong. After all, this has always been a region beyond the reach of city-based civilization since Roman times. They could simply disappear into the vast desert where we cannot follow. Once the hostages had been moved to hideouts in the desert, it would have been impossible to find them. They would have been held in atrocious condition for many months or even years, only to be killed in the end.
Of course, if they had accepted offers of help from the US, Britain and France, the death toll could have been different ....
Apparently, Islamists scored some points by their raid and attempted hostage taking at an oil and gas plant in Algeria. One, they produced thirty odd martyrs who are now happily dwelling in the next world. Two, they demonstrated what they were capable of. Three, their profile has significantly increased.
I have been glued to Syrian and Mali situations for the past fortnight, but, what is really annoying is that the civil war in Mali has been ignored by national media here in Japan. Apparently, in Norway, they suffer from a similar lack of interest. Now suddenly, they've learned that their fellow countrymen are woking in the remote desert in Algeria and got entangled in struggle against international terrorism.
Now, as this latest tragedy unfolds, they can no longer keep ignoring the ongoing war in Mali and the fragile security situation in Algeria. Isn't this sort of publicity what Al Qaeda wanted? So long as the media's practice of following big explosions only continues, terrorists will keep trying to produce just such bangs. In other words, the media's selective process and rating-based criteria for what constitute news might be partially responsible for what has happened in some small way.
I don't think the decision by the Algerian government to go in to free the hostages was wrong. After all, this has always been a region beyond the reach of city-based civilization since Roman times. They could simply disappear into the vast desert where we cannot follow. Once the hostages had been moved to hideouts in the desert, it would have been impossible to find them. They would have been held in atrocious condition for many months or even years, only to be killed in the end.
Of course, if they had accepted offers of help from the US, Britain and France, the death toll could have been different ....
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