The Beeb journalist is reporting about Iraqi kidnappings. It’s bad news. Naturally he gets over-excited while interviewing people:
‘On the wall behind him the faces of the handful of kidnappers they’ve captured stare out. Black and white images of the men who terrorise their fellow citizens.
“What I want is for the government to apply the law that deals with kidnapping. They should hang criminals to keep the peace.”
Most Iraqis are the same. People here – children and adults, civilians and the police – all tell you that for now security is more important than democracy.’
THAT’S NOT WHAT HE SAID, NOW, IS IT?
He said he supported the death penalty as part of following the laws of his land (according to the testimony the BBC have presented us with), not that he was prepared to sacrifice democracy for security. Of course the Beeb think that democracy and the death penalty are incompatible, but that’s just their opinion. Maybe a cross-section of Iraqis would say that they prefer security to democracy, but that didn’t appear to be their answer when they faced insecure elections and the terrorists asked the questions.