# US Citizen in Pakistan gets kidnapped, begs Obama for help **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 7, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165 "2012-05-07T14:29:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/21 "2012-05-10T17:28:34Z")
Why is this thread in MPSIMS? Doesn’t it belong in GD or the Pit? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/22 "2015-04-23T19:51:56Z")
While this is a zombie thread, I thought I would update it so everyone would know that the U.S. has finally handled the Warren Weinstein problem: > [@](#): > > - A U.S. drone strike in January targeting an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border inadvertently killed an American and an Italian who had been held hostage for years by the group, U.S. officials said on Thursday. President Barack Obama apologized and said he took “full responsibility” for all counterterrorism operations, including this one. > > The deaths were a setback for a longrunning U.S. drone strike program that has targeted Islamist militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, often prompting criticism inside those countries as well as from civil liberties groups in the United States. > > Killed in the January operation were aid workers Warren Weinstein, an American held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian who went missing in Pakistan in 2012, as well as Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al Qaeda leader, the White House said. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/23/us-usa-security-hostages-idUSKBN0NE1MI20150423](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/23/us-usa-security-hostages-idUSKBN0NE1MI20150423) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/23 "2015-04-24T00:50:30Z")
Well, that’s one way of not having the problem any more, for sure. The exact legalese for this is, IIRC, “Oh, s\*\*t.” OTOH if he were not in AQ captivity to begin with, he would not be where the drone missile struck, so it’s still AQ’s fault he died. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/24 "2015-04-24T01:00:21Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > OTOH if he were not in AQ captivity to begin with, he would not be where the drone missile struck, so it’s still AQ’s fault he died. Yes, that is one of the reasons for taking hostages. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/25 "2015-04-24T01:20:42Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Yes, that is one of the reasons for taking hostages. Not if it doesn’t protect you. Hostages only have value against people who will pay or who will hesitate. Against someone who will not pay and will not hesitate, a hostage is just a waste of resources to capture, guard, and feed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/26 "2015-04-24T02:20:42Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Not if it doesn’t protect you. > > Hostages only have value against people who will pay or who will hesitate. Against someone who will not pay and will not hesitate, a hostage is just a waste of resources to capture, guard, and feed. Sometimes they ransom them. ISIS may think that after killing two, the USA will be reluctant to shoot at them in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Whiskey\_Dickens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc348/32.png) [@Whiskey\_Dickens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiskey_Dickens)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/27 "2015-04-24T12:52:24Z")
NM! Didn’t realize it was a zombie! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/28 "2015-04-24T13:07:17Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > Ronnie did in fact face a situation like this. He responded by sending tons of weapons to the Iranians to buy peace. Barrie’s response, on the other hand, was to kill the hostages. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165/29 "2015-04-24T13:19:54Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Barrie’s response, on the other hand, was to kill the hostages. Hey, it worked for Keanu Reeves in _Speed_. Seriously though - I think “Oh, s\*\*t” covers it. Whether this event will encourage or discourage al Qaeda hostage-taking in future (or have no effect) remains to be seen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-citizen-in-pakistan-gets-kidnapped-begs-obama-for-help/621165.md?page=1)