Some Good News: Richard Engel & News Crew Freed in Syria

Oh, thank goodness!

NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and members of his network production team were freed from captors in Syria after a firefight at a checkpoint on Monday, five days after they were taken prisoner, NBC News said early Tuesday. 

“After being kidnapped and held for five days inside Syria by an unknown group, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and his production crew members have been freed unharmed. We are pleased to report they are safely out of the country,” the network said in a statement. 

“It is good to be here,” Engel said during a live appearance on TODAY from Turkey. “I’m very happy that we’re able to do this live shot this morning.”

Quote of the Day: Richard Engel on Egypt

"It makes one wonder, well, was it worth it?  Was it worth supporting the Arab Spring, supporting the demonstrations here in Tahrir Square, when now in Tahrir Square there are clashes going on behind me right in front of the US embassy?"

A Foreign Correspondent Considers the TSA

Check out this piece by Richard Engel of NBC.  To his credit, he filed a complaint.  More thoughts here.  For goodness sake, stop the ever-growing useless TSA security theater antics.  You of course remember this and this.

I add this bit from Engel's essay, which leaped out at me since I know academia all too well:

I was in the subway in New York a few days before traveling to Los Angeles. I grew up in New York. I always read the advertisements on the subways – there's not much else to look at. Generally, they're for acne treatment or public service announcements. 

This time, one of the advertisements caught my eye. It was for quick, inexpensive associate degrees. One of the majors advertised was in accounting, which has long been popular. There always seems to be a need for accountants. The other major was in "homeland security." Standing there, looking up at the ad as I jostled in the subway car, I realized what a growth industry security has become in the United States. 

Uh oh.  And that means that it's going to be rapidly more interested in self-perpetuation than actual effectiveness.