Congratulations, Brian Ross and your investigative team! You are uncovering and announcing information which could put you and your team, as well as hosts of other journalists, and U.S. citizens in extreem danger. Think how you have encouraged miraids of terrorists groups to pick up anyone they might deem effective in kidnapping, in order to obtain their objectives. You, Simon Surowicz, and you, Krista Kjellerman, have just increased your worth to potential kidnappers in the name of the "latest information publication" with your name attached. How can any group be successful against the odds of dealing with suicide bombers and suicide journalists? Think about it.

"The paper quotes "informed sources close to the mediations" " You are surely kidding - you call this journalism? Interview the "informed source" validate what they say - then report it. This is pitiful news reporting.
Absolutely pitiful.

how stupid do you think people are to believe such a out right lie. you get the award for smart as a box a rocks club! the only thing you are accomplishing besides showing people what kinda bull (you know what) jounalism comes out of your part of the world is
confusing people on the facts. thats going to get your peers hurt and loose credibility in the United States good job keep up Idiot.

With reporters and headlines like the one above AQ and hezbollah don't need a public affairs bureau you folks at ABC handle it all for them. Thank you for consistenly painting everything we do in the most negative light possible!

In the name of investigative journalism, you and your team have effectively opened up the pandorean box to the likes of any terrorist organization. I am for the most part in favor of appropriate journalim but Brian Ross you and your investigative team do not know the real meaning of Patriotism!! Curse your ignorance.

Umm, I think the Palestinians could read the Arabic news story quite well and that ABC is just helping the non-Arabic speakers learn what may or may not be the truth. I applaud them for digging through what others seem to ignore

So- the Bush administration makes a deal with terrorists - but it is your belief that Brian Ross is responsible for the damage that causes? And you believe this despite the fact that the story here states clearly that the allegation was first printed the pan-Arab newspaper al Hayat? Do you suppose maybe the kidnappers leaked the story to the Arab paper and that Brian Ross had nothing to do with this?

The notion of not telling the truth because it may be dangerous or inconvenient is very popular in some quarters. But not in the "free world". Not in a nation that values a free press.

I think c mcclain has got it backwards. It is the U.S. that has acted in such a way as to encourage more kidnapping. If the story is correct, then the U.S. negotiated with terrorists. The government's decision to do this makes the consequences their own responsibility. Blaming free speech is a red herring.

"c mcclain" is spouting the usual idiotic republican propaganda. If the US negotiated with terrorists, believe me, it is NOT going to be news to the Al Qaeda creeps, who all communicate with each other. But keeping that news a secret from American citizens just makes it a ridiculous snowjob to tell US that the government "doesn't negotiate with terrorists." If we don't negotiate with these murderers, then, damn it, stick to the policy. If we DO, then grow up and cut out the theatrics. It's obvious after year of GOP that Republicans don't give a real damn about terrorism -- only politics.

Who says this is true? I did not see where from where the information was taken. But, I do agree that if it si true then it would be an incredibly stupid position for the US government to take.

Actually everyones post and the news article is missing the biggest factor here. --- The Journalist are safe. Cool! Good negotiations. Now as long as the trade didn't give arms to the enemey or hand over crazy people that strap bombs on themselves for some stupid god. We all win.

Welcome back to the days of "yellow Journalism and Muck Raking". Journalism is now about "making a difference in the world" and not about integrity. In my view journalists no longer part of mainstream society and have become our social engineers. Please remember that the news agencies and reporters are selling a product today; editorials not news. These are powerful companies that the "news" thrive on chaos and termoil as Attorneys do. If you actually read the language used in these articles the language and verbage is selected to instill a bias in the reader. This is not journalism but self propagating propaganda for the sake of profit. These people do not have an intrest in national unity or rational discourse. We have entered into an age of politics were we as Americans are being sold out by both parties. The people in power now were the 20 -30 years olds of the '60s. No wonder conservatives (crew cuts) and liberals (hippies) of the '60s cannot run this country. They have hated each other for 40 years and we have to pay for the "Ideals" of thier youths. As for journalists who put themselves in harms way to do a job; do the job, report the facts, stop playing the martyr and let us make up our own minds thank you.

You neocons will make any excuse for GW and his band of corrupt cronies no matter what they do! They are declaring open season on all Americans by negotiating with terrorists. For c. mcclain and the others to blame the messengers for the the fact thta Bush helped his buddy Murdock get his reporters back.

It's just a huge coincidence! Like Haliburton's profit going up 600% since 1999!

I think the U.S. government
has opened a dangereous door for it citizens abroad. No one traveling abroad will be safe if this information is true. I have lost in George Bush and his dealings
with the "war on Terrorism" and the "Iraq War". This action will surely hurt the Republican Party in the next election.

A more reliable source than ABC News says a six-figure cash ransom was paid under the table by the US in order to win the release of the hostages.

nice job bringing out the truth about this...let all the 'patriots' pretend whatever they want.

Some bizarre criticisms from the first few posters here. What Brian Ross has done is let the rest of us in on what the kidnappers have always known; that while the State Dept. says they never negotiate with terrorists, they always do and always have.
The militia doesn't need ABC to confirm what they already know in practice. The American people DO need to know. Yes, negotiating with terrorists does make for a more dangerous middle east in the precedent it sets, and always has. But domestic ignorance is not now, nor ever has been, bliss.
Ross is informing the public of the realities on the ground, not the spin in the WH back rooms. It's his job, and he's doing it quite well, thank you very much.

As you read these articles, please be sure to read the very specific language that is used. This is a verbage trick from psychological warfare to put some truth with alot of generalizations that lead to the reader associate all of the information with the truth and therefore accept all of the information as true. Case in point:

Fact: The hostages were released.
Fact: The border has been reopened.
Generalization: According to sources close to the situation say that the real demands were for release of prisoners.
Generalization: According to the report, the mediators contacted a representative of a European country who in turn contacted U.S. and British diplomats. The paper's sources said in the report that members of a senior FBI delegation, who had arrived in the area a few days earlier, were also involved in the negotiations.

Notice the complete lack of any definable fact.

I would like to thank you for your opinion and would wish you a lengthy stay in the "news rich" environment. Don't be surprised if you become a casualty in a war zone. And since you are there voluntarily please do not blame the government that supports your right to endager your own welfare for getting exactly what you are asking for with your actions.

The statement made by one of the released journalist about sums it up.
If you insist on putting yourself in a
dangerous environment were there is no
obvious law and hasen't been any for 100yrs or more than you do so at your own risk. And then to make a statement
that you hope this idiotic behavior won't discourge other journalists from covering the important plight of the palastinian people is very hard to fathom. Everyone is tried of these peoples continueing plight. The new organization still refer to
have them living in refugee camps 60
yrs after the 48 war. Whole countries have been built from scratch and rebuilt in 5 years. They
received billions in aid. More per capita than any nation in the world
with nothing to show for it. No one is interested in their continueing
sagas. Anyone who wants to cover them do so at your own risk. And by the way if you feel so strongly about this why don't you go back.

just another one of the liberal media's attempt to sound important and all knowing. if they only reported facts they have direct knowledge of-the paper would be a monthly instead of a daily.

A little common sense here would be a wonderful thing. Things are often reported inaccurately in that part of the world to boost support for one side or the other (much like it is in the "free world" as well) depending on the authors point of view. I myself find the story very hard to swallow. Here we have a terrorists group that just negotiated one of the biggest "war time" deals for the release of 2 american reporters, and they are not the ones "tooting their own horns"? No matter if the story is true or false now, it is out there on the wire now, picked up by the AP,being circulated across the globe, empowering every terrorist cell in the world with the belief they can have the same effect. So I say the media played right into the idiots hands, like they normally do.
Think people....I mean come on now....You can not really be this blind. Yall spend so much time bashing party lines that you are no longer using those noodles. Is a shame too. you are the ones in control of the country right now...Good thing children are coming up behind you to take up the slack...The bigotry needs to stop if we are to try and make peace in this world, in all of its forms, be it race, religion,social status, political party, or color of hair

i aplaud this reporting. It says very clearly in the article where the information was heard (al Hayat) adn nothing more. it doesn't give opinion, it doesnt scream political bias, as a matter of fact its very neutral. Clearly there is some scepticism on the part of how al Hayat learned of this, but regardless they published this information in the arab world, and there is nothing investigatively wrong with reporting on a topic using an alternate news agencey as its source. It happens ALL THE TIME in our papers in America!

What ever happened to Journalism, I don't beleive this definition apllies any more:

Journalism is a discipline of collecting, analyzing, verifying, and presenting news regarding current events, trends, issues and people. Those who practice journalism are known as journalists.

News-oriented journalism is sometimes described as the "first rough draft of history" (attributed to Phil Graham), because journalists often record important events, producing news articles on short deadlines. While under pressure to be first with their stories, news media organizations usually edit and proofread their reports prior to publication, adhering to each organization's standards of accuracy, quality and style. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised questions about holding the press itself accountable.

Thank you again Brian,
for those who think the truth should be kept hidden, well, what country do you think this is? Do you really think the terrorist groups who WE NEGOTIATED with need to read the ABC site to find out that the US policy of no negotiations with terrorists is a farce? Get real folks, to quote some stupid movie, "you can't handle the truth". And that is exactly what the govt counts on the media for, to censor the news so our delicate and simple minds don't explode when we read about the true horrors that occur in the world we have created, when was the last time any news agency showed the slaughter in Africa? We see crap about some pedophile, but no more coverage about the 50+ people blown up in Iraq this morning. Anyway, I hope the media returns to an objective frame of mind and allows the citizens of this country to decide for themselves.

dear Lord, isn't ABC News owned by the same person who owns the Washington Times?

this person hates muslims...and btw the tape of them converting was because they weren't going to release them...they would have become the newest craze converts who do jihad...

this story is to cover up that when persons seen that video they said that is enough...

ta ta

Nothing is Sacred with the Press is there? Anything for a story line. What good is Homeland Security with you letting the enemy know what we are doing. Shame, Shame, Shame...Or I should say, Lack there of!!
jfg

Thanks for the grreat job of real reportage, something that has been in short supply these past 5 years.
Now put this story as the main item on the evening news on the tube, and you will have completed the job!

Suppose the American government would have done the same with the Israeli soldiers abducted by hezbollah. That whole fiasco that cost America it's goodwill as well as Israel it's honor could have been averted. I guess Fox news is more important than peace in the middle east and an unstable middle east makes americans more of a target for those that harbor ill will towards the USA. I say way to blunder internetional affairs George Bush and the rest of his cronies and supporters.

Absolutely amazing. Let me get this straight. Jack and the rest of the bush Brigade would have us believe that this story compromised our security. That terrorists everywhere will start capturing hostages right and left now that they know that we negotiated terms with the terrorists in this case. Now that they know . . . ? President Bush, Cheny, Rumsfeld, et al. tell us that terrorists comprise a vast network, a conspiracy, devoted to bringing us down. What do you suppose they talk about while conspiring--new recipes for hummus? Don't you figure that, if this story is factual, the folks who kidnapped these journalists let their co-conspirators know of their success? So what you are really saying is, it's fine for the terrorists to know that the Bush administration's bravado about not
negotiating with terrorists is so much crap, at least where Faux News is concerned; the real sin is letting the American people in on the scam.

Ok, we don't negotiate with so-called terrorist. I mean, when the hostages are regular people like, let say, a contract worker or soldier. But hell yeah, when our good buddie and propagandist fox news and murdock calls. we'll kiss their butts. Security of our country takes a back seat to fox. what a friend indeed. Ain't a dam thing fair and balanced about that.

Why do so many of you people have an issue with Americans knowing what is being reported in the overseas press? I wonder if the Bush regime would have negotiated for CNN employees.

Hope the terrorists realize that the US will only negotiate if the journalists they kidnap are from Fox News or if the business people they abduct are from Haliburton. The Bush administration doesn't give a damn about the rest of us...

I would like to point out that ABC did not report this as true and factual. It reported that this is a story which is being reported by Al Hayat, one of the most widely read newspapers in the Arab world. That is news in itself.

Why do so many Americans think that terrorists can't read Arabic or that they do not communicate with each other, for that matter?

If this report is found to be true, and the administration did not lift a finger for Jill Carrol or other reporters with different American news organizations, that is news or, in some cases, confirmation of something many already suspect. It tells us a lot about the administration and it's cozy relationship with Fox News, or is that Pravda on the Potomac?

Right on Craig,

If true, do you all you people calling ABC traitors truly believe that terrorists are scanning ABC news to let them know that the US will negotiate for FOX personnel? You don't think that the kidnappers themselves have a network or that they would keep negotiations secret to protect the United State's image? Please get real.

I'm sorry, when it come's to striking a deal with terrorists' for the release of journalist, I wouldn't make any special deals. Our journalist know and understand the risk before they land on the ground. If not, these journalists' need to understand that the chance of being captured is very real. And if they end up getting captured, they can probably look forward to dieing for their country just like our soldiers have. This war like many others is far to publicized by our media. In my eyes, as a retired soldier who served in OIF 1, the media does not belong in a war zone. Period.

Those claiming these reporters are some kind of traitors are justu plain silly. Don't you think the report published in the pan-Arab newspaper can be READ by Terrorists? Jeesh... no wonder you are part of that 30% who just can not process facts.

It's better to know than not know.

Apparently people are shocked that real information is being "divulged".

If readers are looking for real news and want to get extremely distressed by information they should read ICH, Information Clearing House.

If my government says they are not goign to negotiate with terorrists and then THEY DO...I want to knwo about it ....Good job ABC !!!

Shame on you, Brian Ross, for letting the American people know what their government is doing. How dare you reveal to them that when the president says we don't negotiate with terrorists, in fact, we do negotiate with terrorists. And just because some "pan-Arab newspaper al Hayat" let the rest of the world know what the U.S. government was doing, it's still all your fault if any more people are kidnapped by terrorists, because you let the American people know about their government's secret dealings with terrorists.

For those posting here that think this report in ABC will encourage terrorist, read this again. It says that it was already reported in the pan-Arab newspaper al Hayat.

All this report is doing is giving the same information to the American public. Read the Constitution and know what you are talking about. Why do you hate America?

Keep Up the Good work. This needs to be widely reported. Has this happened in the case of all kidnappings or is Fox News hold a special place in the heart or the Federal Government?

And to those who criticize, when the truth is what you fight you will always lose.

Thank God the two Fox employees are safe and back home. I wonder if the Bush administration would have been as willing to negotiate with "terrorists" to obtain the release of these two people if they had been from some network other than Fox.

A fine piece of investigative journalism from Brian Ross -- again.

Bringing the Bush Adminstration to task might just end up keeping more of our people out of danger -- no matter how "extreem."

The only real mystey here is why these 2 kidnapped journalists who appear to be pretty decent sort of guys work for a bogus network like Fox that presents opinon as "news".

It seems that some people are under the impression that when your leaders say things like "We do not negotiate with terrorists," that it's actually true.

Of course they negotiate with terrorists in a kidnapping situation.

This is the norm.

IDIOTS!! This is another shining example of why the Media sucks!

Did we run out of room for comments? OR did the comments start to sound like truth:?
That maybe Fox and ABC are the same and cannot really criticize each other?? OOPS. someone is at my door,, gotta go... BB..

Care to name that so-called "more reliable source," Chris?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

I have been listening to Jack Johnson a lot lately and he has a song called "Crying Shame." In it he says, "By now we should know how to communicate instead of coming to blows..." and "By now and save, it's a war for peace
It's the same old game
But do we really want to play?
We could close our eyes it's still there..."

This "war" will never be over. Our peacekeeping forces are keeping peace for who? Themselves. It is time to drastically reduce our numbers there. To keep them there just to avoid saying others are right is a travesty. We are not cutting and running, we are backing out and letting them take control of their own fate. That is their God given right as was ours. We had to have wars within our own country to get to what we are today. Why should it be any different anywhere else?

Lets use common sense, from the standpoint of the Bush administration and the terrorists. Why would our government negotiate for these 2 hostages, risking credibility, reputation, and the lives of future reporters? Because they were from FOX NEWS? Obviously fox sways towards the right but these two reporters are needles in the fox haystack... what strategic or corrupt purpose could negotiating for these people have served. Secondly, if this was truth, why wouldnt the terrorists who kidnapped these reporters be spreading this news to the whole world? after all it only makes our administration look that much worse. Im sick of the liberal propoganda out there today, and its obvious that people have a desire to hear exxaggerated, untrue conspiracy theories about our government based off how fast the people on this forum are jumping to conclusions based on 1 arab news source which doesn't even make logic sense. COngrats liberals, you guys get smarter every day.

I'm glad this got out. Not because it has anythig to do with whethor or not it impowers terrorists; back-room deals are widely known to happen, but because it places demands on the USG to negotiate for the return of every US citizen, not just people who are well connected or work for it's neo-con propoganda matrix.

Good job Ross!

Why does the media hate the USA?

Wow, it's amazing what people believe because they read it in a newspaper. Is "al Hayat" arabic for "The Weekly World News"? How come ABC hasn't reported the "facts" about Bat Boy dating Hillary Clinton?

The current U.S. Administration is an embarrassment.

Everyone above who bashed ABC for releasing the truth is against the United States.

Your unethical behavior is unacceptable. Flooding the comments section is ridiculous.

How sad that so many Americans defend the government in lying to its own citizens.

Why are you mad at Brian Ross and ABC News when your president LIED to you that our government would NOT negotiate with terrorists? Why aren't you mad at George Bush for doing the exact opposite of what he said was sound policy?

If you thought that not negotiating was sound policy, then you should be LIVID at the Bush administration for doing the exact opposite AND for lying to you about it.

You WANT to be lied to by your government? Why don't you move to another country in that case? I suggest Cuba.

Why wouldn't George W. Bush negotiate with terrorists? After all, his hero Ronald Reagan did it.

Why do you all hate america?

They were not two reporters, but one American reporter and a New Zealand cameraman. Certainly the New Zealand Government was working very hard for their release, as was the cameraman's wife a British journalist. In addition, the cameraman's father, a clergyman, was using religious contacts to help this process.
I would have expected some of these facts to be mentioned in the story. Without any of them the "investigative" side of it seems very thin indeed!

This whole thing makes no sense. a completely UNKNOWN terrorist group affiliated with AL QAEDA suddenly kidnap FOX news guys. They force them to convert to Islam????!!!! As soon as the video of them denouncing America is released they are released. When they are released and even during the videos of them in captivity they don't seem to be under ANY duress. This is a bunch of crap.

I see the Coulter brigade has been unleashed...

Congratulations guys! You made it to the frontpage of fark.com and get ready for onslaught from farkers!

Reminds me of the time that GHW Bush, who was running the puppet Reagan administration and Rumsfeld made deals with terrorists in Iran and Iraq. They got Ronnie the Actor to lie to America about not dealing with terrorists while they made a pile of money selling arms to terrorists. Anybody remember that? Nah, right wingers don't remember anything except what Gee Dubya told 'em two minutes ago.

How does it feel to be stupid and gullible while your country is sold to the oil companies? Send your children to the Iraqi occupations do Dubya won't have to send his twins.

If this report is true, it doesn't matter if the media plays this story for the next two weeks, the terrorists who got their demands met by the US government know knows IN PRACTICE a tactic that will work. Any future consequences are the responsibility of the administration. Keeping America Ignorant will not make us any safer, if this is going on. Maybe a little outrage focused at the government would though. You know the action of dissent against the ruling government that won us our Independence from our British Overlords.

ahh the fox terrorism network

I don't doubt this story in the least, and everyone who has lost a relative to terrorist activity because the USA would 'not negotiate' has been severaly screwed. Isn't it convenient that reporters for the State Media/Big Brother/Fox made it out alive, while Daniel Perl, low ranking American soldiers and several contractors and peace activists have been found in pieces?

To all the people who say "Thanks to ABC the terrorists know that the US Govt is breaking ITS OWN policy/are encouraged, etc." (or something similar):
Instead of shooting the messenger may I remind you that they were only alerting you to a story that was originally from the PAN-ARAB newspaper al Hayat. This story was probably circulated across the ENTIRE MIDDLE-EAST before it even reached ABC's editors.

Why you lot seem to think that terrorists will find out something if it comes from an American news source but not a local one that prints in their own native language is beyond me.

I cant believe that any of you can even start to believe anything that comes from news outlets over there. I am having a hard time believeing half of what OUR papers say anymore yet you take them at their words if they say it it must be true. You people need to get your heads out of your back sides wake up and stop blaming everything on the U.S. government. We are not the ones kidnapping people and holding them for ransome We are not the ones lobbing rockets over borders because we dont agree with someones religion. The one important thing is 2 men are free right now they are headed home to their families. Did our government negotiate I dont know and neither do the people that wrote this article its all hearsay I want one person to show me some proof just one real shred of evidence. you cant the journalists cant period its all "well i think this is what happened" or hey that arab paper printed it and we know they would never lie so it must be true. Wake up you whiney -------- and go try to make a real difference.

Why are so many people blaming the messenger? If journalists are in more danger now it is the fault of the current U.S. administration for negotiating with the kidnappers, not the media for reporting the fact. Ignorance is not safety.

Another Brian Ross Journalistic Fiasco. Maybe Brian should run the Gaza desk for a few months. Maybe they will make him convert into a responsible jounalist at gun point.

this article is crap. pure crap.

Once again, there is news with so many quotation marks for blind items and many loopholes. Who are "informed sources close to the mediations" that Hoda Osman used as sources?

Osman wrote >>>>>The U.S. secretly negotiated with the group through leaders of "the Palestinian popular resistance committees." Who are these leaders and these committees? What were this group's "real demands?"

Most of all, what are the identities of those two Fox News journalists in Gaza, supposedly kidnapped on August 14 that are the subjects of this news? With all these ambiguities in this account, this so-called “news” is half-baked!

So, when will traditional reporting of this kind change?

Clearly most of the commenters dont realize that the problem is that our government negotiated with terrorists, not that the media reported it. Wow. Just -= Wow. Scary people.

It's no surprise that our Gummint would negotiate for the release of Fox/Murdoch employees, while ignoring the plight of employees of real news organizations. What is surprising is the degree of vitriol exhibited by so many posts -- why are the Bush-supporters so angry at anything that threatens their belief system?

better question - why are so many people so adamant that such a flimsy, fact-less report is true? Real journalism should cite specific sources and not be open-ended; it's pure fanaticism to believe that which lacks evidence. You might as well shout there were WMDs in Iraq...

What are the names of the informed sources? What proof do you have?This is a simple trick ---just find out something that happens after the fact and blame the previous event on causing.

folks, let me explain this to you. if the way Bush is handling things bother you, tough. there are a lot of us far to the right of the president. he is not pushing, we are pulling. don't mistake our kindness for weakness. islamo-facists, and left-wingers will rule the world, only over our dead bodies. a democrat as president will not change the islamo-idiots ways, you are foolish to think otherwise.

I see a lot of posts that criticize the media. Yes they deserve it. But come now, you really trust the US govt?

They are placing more fear and danger into American lives than the media!

I agree with everyone's comments except yours.

Why does Brian Ross have a phone to his ear at the top of the page? It looks like a real estate agent's bus bench ad. Nice work ABC! Brian you must be proud.

Congratulations ABC! The 911 Dramatization was excellant, riveting, exciting and 99% accurate re: factual and historical depiction of events leading to the Al Queda act of war. During the hell fire of damnation 48 hours before the release of 911 by President Clinton, for whom I supported during his two term presidency, the country's real esate industry for which I was apart of recovered from a bad recession. It is ironic President Clinton 'objected" to alleged misinformation edited into the film's dramatization i.e., the only part of ABC's 911 film was the truth about his ineptitude to annihilate Bibn Laden and his terrorist henchmen when 75 Tomahawks missed the scumbucket! President Clinton was too distracted fending off allegations of sexual impropriety with Monica Liwinski! /s/ L J Poye

i want to tell the world that people get killed in gaza. children that they were just playing in the street and i just don't know why we act like nothing is happening.it's just breaks my heart