http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
This is from Al Hayat via an ABC investigative report from Brian Ross:
You'll have to use the link to read it, as I can't cut and paste even limited excerpts. The following points:
1) As far as I know, Al Hayat is well thought of as a ME news source, but I'm no expert.
2) The "conversion to Islam" story is false - it was a cover for the so-called "real demands" of the terrorists (the "Holy Jihad Brigades"), and was put out to prevent people from learning that the US was actually negotiating terms with terrorists, something they have sworn on a 10 mile high stack of Bibles that they'd never do.
3) The contact was indirect and bargaining appears to have been rather elaborate, with the FBI involved in the negotiations.
4) So far as I know, no similar effort was made on behalf of other abducted journalists (assuming journo status for the Fox employees for the moment, not that any Foxie deserves it). People such as Daniel Pearle(?) (killed in Pakistan), and that CSM reporter who was kidnapped in Baghdad and released awhile back (I'm spacing on her name, dammit!) didn't have such help.
5) The appearance of favoritsm to Fox - the bunch who is the sole source of "newsiness" that Bush and his pals admit to paying any attention to is obvious, and so is the motivation for it - one hand washes another. Also, the Bushies have no qualms about violating a sacred tenet of conservative international behavior. HAH! Tenet? Didn't we fire that guy?
But why the cover story?