Canadian hostage, wife & children freed from Afghanistan, Oct 2017 #1

[Lilibet]

I think it was the Western guard who was gonna leave and tell ISIS about the rape, not Josh.

I can’t resist wondering if this Western guard just wanted to get away from JB discussing the finer points of Islam with him ad nauseum.

 

[bears10]

I can’t resist wondering if this Western guard just wanted to get away from JB discussing the finer points of Islam with him and nauseum.

I think it’s super interesting that supposedly this western guard was so disgusted with the way the Haqqani were treating JB and CC that he left to go to ISIS. Bc we know ISIS is a really moral human rights group. /s

Just ironic that this Isis guy is the one who communicated with JBs family while JB and CC were in captivity with the kids. And now this Isis guy is made out to be such an upstanding person bc of him being so appalled by the concept of rape that the left the terrorist organization. Only to go to a different terrorist organization. One known for being ruthless. Makes zero sense. JB makes me so uneasy. I can’t imagine how much more uneasy I’d feel if we were in the same country.

 

[Hiandmighty]

You know, my first impression of her in the pic holding the baby is...... smug, almost defiant.

anyone else get that?

 

[FightTheOstrich]

You know, my first impression of her in the pic holding the baby is...... smug, almost defiant.

anyone else get that?

Yes - smug and defiant are really good words for it. And has anyone noticed that whenever J or C hold the baby they don't support her neck?

Idk, it's strange - I cannot imagine doing interviews so soon after being held captive for years in probably the worst place on the planet to be a woman.

 

[bears10]

You know, my first impression of her in the pic holding the baby is...... smug, almost defiant.

anyone else get that?

Yep..

 

[FightTheOstrich]

I was reading about Bowe Bergdahl today (interesting side note - Bowe, J and C were all home schooled at some point). Anyway his captors built him a cage to live in and the Boyle Family got a house....

 

[bears10]

I was reading about Bowe Bergdahl today (interesting side note - Bowe, J and C were all home schooled at some point). Anyway his captors built him a cage to live in and the Boyle Family got a house....

That is actually really interesting IMO. Maybe being isolated from others your age and not being socialized thru the school system can have negative effects. I personally don’t agree with homeschooling based on the experiences I’ve heard about and the people I know who have been homeschooled. I think it’s really important for adolescents to regularly be around their peers for socialization purposes. I’m not very surprised that all three of them were homeschooled. I think the isolation of homeschooling could cause someone to be easily influenced or manipulated since social norms may not come naturally to them.

 

[Gunslinging Granny]

I think it’s super interesting that supposedly this western guard was so disgusted with the way the Haqqani were treating JB and CC that he left to go to ISIS. Bc we know ISIS is a really moral human rights group. /s

Just ironic that this Isis guy is the one who communicated with JBs family while JB and CC were in captivity with the kids. And now this Isis guy is made out to be such an upstanding person bc of him being so appalled by the concept of rape that the left the terrorist organization. Only to go to a different terrorist organization. One known for being ruthless. Makes zero sense. JB makes me so uneasy. I can’t imagine how much more uneasy I’d feel if we were in the same country.

After Joshua Boyle told the guard about his wife's rape, he stated that the guard quit his position to go find a more "purer form" of jihad which was ISIS. This statement shows Josh believes ISIS is a pious, respectable organization.

 

[Bodhi]

I was struck by the lack of warmth in any of the photos of either parent with a child. There were a series of photos Joshua released the first day in Canada outside with the oldest boy. He described everything being a wonderland to the child, yet the photos don't show any joy. If your child is experiencing the world beyond a cell for the first time, wouldn't the parent being showing some emotion or mirroring the child's excitement? And keep in mind, these are the best photos--the ones Joshua selected. In one of the photos where his hand is behind the boy's back I get quite a stern vibe, although I can't tell if he is grabbing him by the neck or gently guiding him.

There have been two pictures of Caitlan. In the hospital bed with the boy lying next to her, she looks totally disconnected from him, annoyed possibly or indifferent. I figured she was exhausted and unwell after such a long ordeal. I don't want to be too critical of her--she had 4 pregnancies in 5 years in dire circumstances and I don't think I'd have any emotional reserves left either. But in the photo outside with the baby, she's not cuddling her. I felt it could almost be anything on her lap.

The only photos released that show warmth are Joshua's mother holding the baby and kissing her head and his father cradling her and beaming looking down into her face. (Despite Joshua's statements that the baby screams when a man other than him comes near her.)

I don't know whether the parents are so emotionally damaged because of years of captivity that they are incapable of parenting. And I wouldn't blame them for that if the captivity conditions were beyond their condition (that's still an if for me). It angers me that they would likely have been in the same frame of mind when they decided a year ago to have the baby. They already had a 1-year-old they say was already traumatized and they were unable to comfort. And the oldest was nearly 4; he was long past the point where confinement wouldn't cause him major damage. His need to expand his horizons beyond the cell would have been obvious. I realize people have children for all kinds of reasons. But their decision to have 3 more children in those circumstances was reprehensible and extremely self-serving for people who see themselves as selfessly helping the downtrodden and the unenlightened. I can't figure the impetus to have a dozen children while they weren't able to care for them or enjoy them.

Caitlan said she is so pleased to be free because now they can have access to books and supplies for homeschooling. They both have boasted about the fantastic job they did teaching the oldest boy. Yet the examples they give are rote learning. Yes the child can repeat history and geography facts but given his tiny world has no idea of what any of that means. It shows they value is placed on the parent dispensing information and the child simply parroting it back. No joy of discovery. It goes with the stern vibe I got from the pictures in the backyard. Rigid and authoritarian.

 

[Bellbaby]

Makes no sense, the guard story. So someone who is part of a terrorist/gang network is going to up and quit. With no retaliation from his "co-workers"? No view that he is a deserter or a loose end? He's going to take some type of heroic stand and walk away. To join another affiliate. With no questions asked by the affiliate.

JB obviously thinks he's smarter than everyone else, but this story actually shows his stupidity.

Also shows JB thinks you can just walk into/out of these terrorist groups...Probably what he thought he was going to do himself. I imagine these groups won't just take anyone. What if a new recruit has a plan to infiltrating them? They need to watch their backs too. And he was probably a reject for some reason. In the photos at Pearson airport, his skin is very pale so I do think he was held somewhere. Now, willfully or against his will is another question.

And why feel the need to keep telling these grandiose stories? Is it a mental issue? Or to cover something up. I actually can't believe this terrorist group let him live. He seems like more trouble than he's worth. Plus, all the babies cost money and are a hassle. Even to a terrorist network. Why let him live? What's the advantage? Maybe JB was able to contain himself while he was over there, possibly working with them. But like lilibet stated, he can't not speak now that he's back here.

All the why's are the problem. Why originally go there, why continue with the stories, etc?

No way would I be sleeping under the same roof as the guy. Uneasy enough being on the same continent. Imo he has deviant tendancies by all this lying, intentions going there, etc. I think he gaslighted his wife, imo. He's up to no good and it's on what level? Just attention seeking behavior? Or worse?

The fact the US has an attention seeking president (no offense), in a constant state of renumeration (good and bad), that hasn't continued to toot his own horn about aiding in this rescue, especially with it being a huge political week between the US and Pakistan, says alot to me.

Moo.... the funny part is JB thinks he's so smart. But he hasn't fooled anyone. The public is waiting for him to make a mistake. Or do something. Hopefully he makes the mistake first. Again, imo.

 

[Bellbaby]

They did have some type of life over there. Because how did the drone spot the woman and kids? Were they outside??? In which case JB is lying, again, in previous statements saying the children have never seen the sun. And a militant camp, where was JB? Captive or training?

https://www.thestar.com/amp/news/wo...e-in-if-pakistan-failed-to-free-hostages.html

 

[Fire Dragon]

these are the best photos--the ones Joshua selected.

How do you know there were more photos by the press and Boyle selected what he liked?

 

[Fire Dragon]

After Joshua Boyle told the guard about his wife's rape, he stated that the guard quit his position to go find a more "purer form" of jihad which was ISIS. This statement shows Josh believes ISIS is a pious, respectable organization.

ISIS - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria = IS = Daesh. Bitter rival of parent organization al Qaeda. Leaders are a new generation of Islamist militants who have broken with al Qaeda in a power struggle over Syria.

IEA - Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan = the Taliban

TTP - Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan = Pakistan Taliban (not the Afghan Taliban)

Haqqani network - Afghan Sunni guerilla insurgent group fighting against NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Part of the CIA- and Pakistan-backed mujaheddin alliance, including al-Qaeda.

 

[Lilibet]

ISIS - Islamic State of Iraq and Syria = IS = Daesh. Bitter rival of parent organization al Qaeda. Leaders are a new generation of Islamist militants who have broken with al Qaeda in a power struggle over Syria.

IEA - Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan = the Taliban

TTP - Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan = Pakistan Taliban (not the Afghan Taliban)

Haqqani network - Afghan Sunni guerilla insurgent group fighting against NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Part of the CIA- and Pakistan-backed mujaheddin alliance, including al-Qaeda.

BBM

Thanks for the definitions. It helps!

Random thought...So often, if someone was fighting the Soviets, they were U.S. allies, as al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network were during the Soviet-Afghan war. Politics and war make for strange bedfellows. Now they are the enemy.

 

[Bodhi]

How do you know there were more photos by the press and Boyle selected what he liked?

You're right. I don't know if there were more photos. I should have said he chose to release these photos. It was late. I apologize.

To rephrase then, in my opinion, he released these photos because they served his purposes. To me, that means they conveyed a message he wanted the public to see. IMO, he thought they portrayed something positive.

 

[human]

All kinds of people have their message like the Duggars, for instance. JB has chosen his approach to life. Some put other’s lives in danger by mountain climbing. Quite an expose on the ugliness of that whole scene.( https://news.nationalgeographic.com...14/04/140426-sherpa-culture-everest-disaster/)

Having 19 kids puts a woman at risk as well as the children

 

[momshrink]

They did have some type of life over there. Because how did the drone spot the woman and kids? Were they outside??? In which case JB is lying, again, in previous statements saying the children have never seen the sun. And a militant camp, where was JB? Captive or training?

https://www.thestar.com/amp/news/wo...e-in-if-pakistan-failed-to-free-hostages.html

In my opinion: training. MOO

 

[Bodhi]

New piece in the Weekly Standard looking at why they were in Afghanistan.

"A Strange Captivity"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-strange-captivity/article/2010226

 

[Lilibet]

New piece in the Weekly Standard looking at why they were in Afghanistan.

"A Strange Captivity"
http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-strange-captivity/article/2010226

Interesting article. I thought this part was particularly telling....

[FONT=&amp]T. Lee Humphrey, a retired officer with the Canadian Armed Forces, met Boyle in September 2012 in Afghanistan, weeks before the couple was kidnapped. Humphrey is an international security consultant who was in Kabul on assignment when he met Boyle, by chance, in a restaurant. Boyle was talking about how he wanted to go backpacking through the mountains, and several Westerners were advising him of the dangers of his itinerary.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]“He said he’s a Muslim and his faith will protect him,” Humphrey says of Boyle. “He said he’s devout and Allah is with him.” “He never mentioned his wife, doing good, or anything like that,” says Humphrey, who warned Boyle of the stupidity of his plan, to no avail. “I just thought he was an arrogant idiot.”
BBM

http://www.weeklystandard.com/a-strange-captivity/article/2010226[/FONT]

 

[Alireba]

Upthread there was mention that JB might be Sherurcij at Wikipedia
Thus nytimes article confirms that. He was very active editing and writing articles focused on these issues.


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/14/world/canada/canadian-american-hostages-daughter.html