  Go ahead, explain to me that the Americans, or any other country, shouldn't be in the Middle East fighting a war against terrorism or helping to create stability in a region of the world that has been waging war in some way, shape or form for at least the past 40 years of my life time. Go ahead, tell me GWB and his government's policies are to blame for the instability in the Middle East.
Currently there are 5 more hostages who's families are clinging to hope that the same fate that befell Daniel Pearl, Paul Marshall Johnson Jr and Kim Sun-il will not happen to the 3 Turkish, 1 U.S. Marine, who was lured from his base (gotta wonder about that one), and 1 Pakistani driver for an American contractor, being held hostage. All in the name of Iraq. Of course the terms for their release is the same as usual; release of prisoners and a condition that Turkish companies stop doing business with U.S. forces in Iraq. The American hostage is of Lebanese descent. Also on the table is a plea from the Pakistan hostage to the Pakistani President to close his country's embassy in Iraq and to ban all Pakistanis from coming to Iraq. A group identifying itself as Islamic Response is claiming responsibility for this latest action. The U.S. states that this group consists of Arab nationalists, former Bath Party members and Islamic extremists, all with different ideologies. The Islamic Response is the security wing of the National Islamic Resistance-1920 Revolutionary Brigade.
For decades this insurgency group has been linked and has claimed responsibility for 100s of terrosist attacks throughout the Middle East. This latest act of terrorism will, in all likelihood, end in the death of 5 more innocents by acts of terrorism. It reinforces my belief that the American Government/Military and its coalition need to be in the Middle East and perhaps even increase its presence there. Regardless of what one might think about the war in Iraq and Aghanistan, I think it's safe to say that the tactics that the terrorists groups are using in the Middle East are just as, or more horrifying than the acts others seems to think the Americans are guilty of. War isn't pretty, neither is terrorism. It's too bad that you need one to rid the world of the other. 
