I've seen the news that the body originally thought to be Margaret Hassan's is not hers. That opens up a few questions, including who is it? The list of people who have been kidnapped is pretty well-known and this person doesn't appear to have been on it. Strange.
However, we shouldn't get our hopes up about Margaret. I've spoken to people at CARE and they do not think she's still alive. The comment that hit a nerve was, "The guys who took Margaret were idiots. They had no idea who she was."
We often assume too much knowledge or too much purpose on the part of the bad and the mad. They manage to pull off some great coup - destroying a building and dozens, hundreds of lives, or kidnapping or killing a significant person - which puts their actions and whatever vague statements they've made front and center in the media spotlight and we all too often think they must have planned it that way.
Most criminals aren't that bright. They are in it for the money or the street cred or the blowing shit up and, in conflict zones, they often don't really plan ahead for what comes after.
May you never be in a situation where stupid people have the power of life and death over you.
Posted by Martial