Afghanistan – Hostages may be released! Hopefully…

At least a Taliban leader is saying so

This is great news if they follow through with it. The only problem with this is that the Taliban are demanding 21 talibani prisoners be released while they give back the rest of the S. Korean Christian hostages that were taken weeks ago. The Taliban is being more forthright with the situation and are basically saying that all of this is going to happen as long as their Talibani prisoners are released as well.

S.Korea was quite a bit more cautious about it.

“A quick release is a good thing but we don’t see that the possibility of the quick release is high,” a South Korean official in Seoul told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Here’s the gist of what is happening as far as negotiations.

Four South Korean officials and two top Taliban leaders met in person Saturday for a second round of talks over the fate of the 21 members of a church group held hostage for three weeks.

This is, despite the fact I don’t like to hear about people “negotiating with the enemy”, actually good news and i’m relieved to hear that there is at least some progress going on in this situation. Bashir is acting a bit too upbeat for this to just be a change of heart, so im guessing that the pressure of a military action rescue is making him a bit uneasy. Attempts to rescue them have been made already and I’m sure the Taliban are feeling the heat. However, despite this somewhat good progress report I have to point out that Bashir is a complete douchetool and that his statement pretty much contradicts what we already know is happening.

“They are healthy and happy and secure,” Bashir said of the Korean captives.

Which, of course, is complete and utter bullcrap. Need we be reminded already that two of the hostages, both male, have already been killed? I seriously doubt that an organization that prides itself on how murderous and imposing it can be is making hostages feel “Healthy, Happy, and Secure”.

I just wish this whole ordeal would be over with. In case your not familiar with the situation here’s the rundown.

The kidnapping of the 23 Koreans — the largest group of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion — underscores the rise of the Taliban’s power in rural Afghanistan the last two years, a time of increasing violence driven by a rise in suicide blasts and roadside bombings.

The remaining captives — volunteers from a church group who planned to do health work in Afghanistan — include 16 women and five men. Two male captives were executed by gunfire.

Keep the remaining hostages in your prayers. Things are looking up, but they aren’t out of the woods yet.