Jacobsen on Hostages

I’m sorry for the hostages, too, but dammit when you go to work in that part of the world, it goes with the territory. They were all told repeatedly how dangerous it was and insisted on being there.

So an entire nation is jeopardized because a handful of stubborn men insist for their own reasons upon being places where they are in harm’s way.

I certainly do not mean the poor Marines who had no choice when they were stationed in Beirut or government employees or members of the press.

I’m sure the families of the hostages are agonized by their imprisonment. Too bad their agony didn’t prevail when these people elected to be over there in the first place.

I do not consider them heroes.

BILL STEIN

Cambria