What if it was his daughter?

If true, this is horrifying.

According to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials delayed the scheduled release of six female prisoners whom they knew had already been found innocent because of [American journalist Jill Carroll's] kidnappers' demand for their release. Then they refused to speed up the review of the files of the five remaining female prisoners, in violation of a policy of giving priority to females in the review of detainee files for release.

Jeanne's title of this post at Body and Soul would be fully warranted, and I am afraid that it is. That Jill Carroll's pleas may have actually delayed the release of women prisoners slated for release anyway has gotten scant play in the American press, though I did find this passage in a January 22 news release from Reuters:

As U.S. and Iraqi forces hunted for kidnapped American reporter Jill Carroll, Iraq's Justice Ministry said six women prisoners held by U.S. forces would be released within a week.

Carroll's abductors threatened to kill her if all women prisoners in Iraq were not freed.

A joint Iraqi-U.S. review board approved the release of the women on Jan. 17, before the kidnappers made their demand, but U.S. officials then apparently delayed freeing them so that it did not look like they were giving in to the hostage-takers.

"They delayed their release because of the connection with the kidnapping of the American journalist," a Justice Ministry spokesman said.

Truly I understand the tragic necessity of allowing the worst, in order not to set the precedent for further kidnappings if it becomes apparent they are successful. But to delay a process that would have happened anyway, just to assure that no one thinks there is capitulation is unconscionable. We can always declare it to be unrelated to the demand, especially when it is.

Even most conservatives will jump on callousness this severe, as is evident by the unpopularity of this RedState diary. When will they come to recognize that callousness in our Republican leaders?

Jill Carroll, I hope you make it back, and that your captors are eventually brought to justice.