However you want to interpret Jill Carroll’s release, this is good news. A life has been spared, and, by her account, her captors did not abuse her.
One thing missing from the NYT, AP, and BBC reports, however, is any mention of the reasons for, or implications of, her release. Kathryn Lopez saw this on Fox:
Bret Baier, Pentagon correspondent at Fox, seemed to immediately assume in his rapid-response commentary on Fox and Friends that the rescue of the Christian peace activists last week might have played a role in Carroll’s release.
No media outlets have picked up on this: that perhaps the rescue of the peace activists frightened Carroll’s captors enough to let her go. Or, perhaps, she was released because her captors realized murdering her or treating her poorly would further prove them to be the extremist and immoral human beings they are — as if kidnapping an innocent woman weren’t enough.
Whatever the real reason for her release, one thing is clear: This is a victory. Whether her captors feared for their lives, or whether they simply saw the pointlessness of their despicable actions, they gave up. The media, known for their almost conspiracy-theorist reporting of anything anti-Bush, should at least acknowledge this.