Lessons Learned from the Algerian Hostage Situation

From Fox News, AP, and CBSthe Algerian hostage situation is over. Now we need to learn from the experience.

Lesson One: The terrorists aren't trustworthy. From the AP article:

...Chabane, an Algerian who worked in food services, said he bolted out the window and was hiding when he heard the militants speaking among themselves with Libyan, Egyptian and Tunisian accents. At one point, he said, they caught a Briton.

"They threatened him until he called out in English to his friends, telling them, `Come out, come out. They're not going to kill you. They're looking for the Americans,'" Chabane said.

"A few minutes later, they blew him away."

 I might suggest this page at thereligionofpeace.com for those who wish to have a better understanding of why Islamic terrorists aren't trustworthy, and how they justify their falsehoods. Needless to say, no Muslim terrorist group can't be trusted in any case where lying could possibly advance their objectives.

Lesson Two: The terrorists apparently want Mali quite a bit:

The attack by the Masked Brigade, founded by Algerian militant Moktar Belmoktar, had been in the works for two months, a member of the brigade told the ANI news outlet. He said militants targeted Algeria because they expected the country to support the international effort to root out extremists in neighboring Mali and it was carried out by a special commando unit, "Those Who Signed in Blood," tasked with attacking nations supporting intervention in Mali.

 Lesson Three: This sort of terror tactic only works on an enemy who is weak in one way or another - morale, morality, or mentally. Algeria's response, which will probably be put under the microscope, prevented the terrorists from accomplishing any of their objectives, from intimidating Algeria, to obtaining the release of the Blind Sheik and other prominent terrorists.