Michelle Malkin gets it...

Since I have been sick this is pretty much the only story I have been trying to follow, because it has seemed to me that nobody is talking about the HUGE underlying issue in the story of the Italian communist reporter, ITALY PAID A RANSOM! It wasn't a ransom to some hard up hoodlums or revolutionaries in Rio. No, Italy paid terrorists to release this woman. What exactly does the Italian government wish to accomplish, better cinematography in the beheading videos? It's shameful and disgusting that Italy, our supposed ally, has become a primary sponsor for insurgent terrorism.

The scandal is not that an anti-war propagandist has accused the U.S. of
targeting journalists. That's par for the course. (Yes, hello again, Eason
Jordan.) The scandal is not that mainstream media sympathizers are
blaming our military and dredging up every last shooting accident along the
treacherous routes to Baghdad Airport. Again, no surprise here.
The scandal is that Italy -- our reputed ally in the global War on Terror --
negotiated with Sgrena's Islamist kidnappers and may have forked over a massive
ransom to cutthroats for Sgrena's release.

Iraqi politician Younadem Kana told Belgian state TV that he had
"non-official" information that Italy paid the terrorists $1 million in tribute.
The Washington Times, citing the Italian newspaper La Stampa, pinned the ransom
figure at $6 million. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that the
Italian government forked over between $10 million and $13.4 million to free
Sgrena.

The consequences of capitulation are bloody obvious. When you allow your
people to be used as terrorist collection plates, the thugs will keep coming
back for more. Might as well hang a sign around the neck of every Italian
citizen left in Iraq: Buon appetito.