Bill Clinton flies from Pyongyang to Baghdad to free more journalists from jail
Fresh from his triumph in North Korea, Bill Clinton is flying to Iraq to release another imprisoned journalist over there.
The case in point is Ibrahim Jassam, jailed without a court order for nearly a year now.
Never heard of Jassam? How about Bilal Hussein? The man got a Pulitzer Prize for his work, no less.
Does Abdul Ameer Hussein ring a bell? The guy was shot by a US bullet and arrested by US soldiers while, ironically, filming for a US news network.
But back to Ibrahim. The man is a Reuters’ cameraman and photographer. He lived, worked and was arrested in his own country, and then handed over to the US military.
The Iraqi court ordered his release, but the US wants to keep him under lock and key.
The man is “a threat to Iraq security and stability,” as per Major Neal Fisher, a spokesman for the US Military
Get it? The Iraqi court says the man – who by the way was arrested by the Iraqi military (or the police, or just some men with guns – it’s never quite clear in Baghdad) is NOT a threat to Iraq
But Major Fisher thinks otherwise, or his superiors do, OR nobody is thinking anything at all, and can’t be bothered to do anything about it.
Anybody tried sitting in jail when it’s about 100°F on the street (that’s about 38 degrees Celsius)? Try it out one day – you will very quickly find out the meaning of the phrase “every minute counts”.
Not for Major Fisher, as Ibrahim Jassam has been jailed for nearly a year now.
It will certainly take all the charm and persuasion of Bill Clinton to get the man released – but surely the great statesman can work his magic on some of the jail keepers in Baghdad? There will be no language barriers at least.
But our headline is bogus.
Unfortunately, William Jefferson Clinton, a “top international handshake-for-hire”, as some call him these days, won’t be concerning himself with the fate of Ibrahim Jassam.
Jassam will in all probability continue to languish in jail until Major Fisher decides he is not a “security threat” to his people any more.
Anybody else out there saying FTW?
Insomniac in DC
