This story has been with me for the last two days. Omar Alkhani not only took his American girlfriend with him to Syria as he snuck through the border, but he also left her in captivity after ISIS released him. So he made two fatal decisions that caused Mueller to be killed. I know that this is a very difficult decision one faces. In 1979, I was stopped at a Syrian army checkpoint in front of the Central Bank of Lebanon in Beirut. I was coming with a female comrade after gluing political posters on the walls of Beirut. A Syrian soldiers took me aside and ordered me to leave because--he said--they want to "attack" (he used a vulgar word) my comrade. I remember looking at my comrade's eyes and she did not say a word to me but I knew what I needed to do. Mr. Alkhani immediately left Syria after he was released from captivity leaving his American girlfriend behind. He will have to live with his decisions.
PS I heard from a source in Syria with Doctors Without Borders. And she tells me that they were furious when Alkhani showed up with Mueller and they were dumbfounded as to how he was able to sneak her in.
PS I heard from a source in Syria with Doctors Without Borders. And she tells me that they were furious when Alkhani showed up with Mueller and they were dumbfounded as to how he was able to sneak her in.
