Hostage Deadlines Begin to Pass

One of the Blogger-eaten posts related to the Iraqi hostages - now a collection from America, Japan, and other countries. Now, the deadline given on the American hostage, a contractor from Mississippi, has passed with no word - and I doubt we got out of Fallujah.

The Japanese public is up in arms, and rightly so, demanding that their leader withdraw troops - and remember, Japan's troops are there in completely non-combat roles only. Many of those taken are humanitarian workers, although it's unclear whether the contractor from the US captured was Army-contract or otherwise.

I hope their lives are spared. But I also hope the lives of the Iraqi people are spared, too, along with our military. Enough death for no purpose.