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Article: When in doubt, grab a hostage.
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 6, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN THE competition between western governments on how not to deal with hostage-taking, West Germany has now moved decisively into the lead. On January 27th Mr Ralph Schray, a West German engineer, was kidnapped in Beirut. Rarely can a hostage have owed his captivity so directly to the actions of his own government. Pick your way through this sorry tale.
In June 1985 a TWA airliner was hijacked to Beirut airport and one of its passengers, an American navy diver, was murdered. Then the authorities had a stroke of luck: the following January, Mr Muhammed Ali Hamadei, a Lebanese, was arrested at Frankfurt airport carrying false papers and explosives. The Americans, ...