Saturday, October 14, 2017

Just Who Is Joshua Boyle?


I don't get it. A guy takes his wife, pregnant with their first child, backpacking through a Taliban controlled part of Afghanistan. They were on a mission, he says, to help, "the most neglected minority group in the world, those ordinary villagers who live deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan."

What did Joshua Boyle imagine might and probably would happen as he traipsed around ministering to these ordinary villagers deep inside Taliban-controlled Afghanistan? What more probable outcome was there than that they would probably be kidnapped and possibly executed by the insurgents controlling the area? Res ipsa loquitor, the thing speaks for itself.

Boyle didn't provide specific details, but said the "stupidity and evil of the Haqqani network's kidnapping of a pilgrim and his heavily pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorizing the murder of my infant daughter, martyr Boyle, as retaliation for my repeated refusal to accept an offer that the criminal miscreants of the Haqqani network had made to me."

Boyle wasn't aware of the "evil of the Haqqani network"? Did that take him by surprise? Did he think that, as a self-described "pilgrim" he and his wife were untouchable? Did he not know that, like Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Haqqani was a mujaheddin in league with the CIA during the Russian occupation in the 70s and afterwards a client of the princes, emirs and sheikhs of the Gulf States (or, as I like to call them, Canada's Middle Eastern allies)?

I'm sorry but I have a little trouble with our government's gushy elation at this guy's return.

"Today, we join the Boyle family in rejoicing over the long-awaited return to Canada of their loved ones," the ministry said in a statement that asked for privacy for the family.

Rejoice? This is a tragedy, an obscenity.  I think his in-laws are right on this call.

Coleman (the wife) is from Stewartstown, Pa. In an interview with ABC News on Friday, her father, Jim Coleman, said he is angry at Boyle for taking her to Afghanistan.

"Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable," he said.


This guy, Josh, set his family up. He set up his wife to be kidnapped, raped and held captive. He set up his first child to be murdered by his captors. Then he went ahead and had three more kids, all of them born into captivity with the very real prospect of dying in captivity.

After the rescue, a change in itinerary was reportedly required, at the behest of Joshua Boyle.

Jim Coleman said Friday he didn't understand why, according to reports, Boyle didn't let his family leave on a U.S. military plane. Coleman said if he saw an American aircraft, he'd be "running for it."

Boyle's father said his son was philosophically opposed to an initial plan that would have involved the plane landing at Bagram, Afghanistan, where the U.S. has held detainees for years without charge during its battles against the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants.

The plane instead was routed to Islamabad, Pakistan. They later travelled to England before continuing on to Canada.


A pilgrim? No, Josh, you're just a pompous dick who got his wife raped and his child murdered.

18 comments:

Lulymay said...

Nailed it! Mound. I am deeply suspicious of this guy's story and his reason for going to Afghanistan. I understand from one news report that he was formerly married to Arar's sister, divorced her and soon married the current wife. I think his real reason for not wanting to get on a quick flight on a US military plane, was he thought there was a real possibility of being detained by US authorities once he landed on their soil. Watch for the exciting book to come out about his "zeal to help those poor folks over there". I don't think we should give Boyle too much attention as he's likely to be in trouble again, given his past actions.

rumleyfips said...

I suspect the hand of fundamentalist religion is at play. Word usage by those involved hint at this. The missionaries who go to North Korea and get arrested claim to be doing good but I see them as troublemakers. The same applies here.

The Mound of Sound said...


The whiff of fundamentalism is all over this, Rumley. Josh and his (second) wife were nerds who met online. Both shared a passion for Star Wars internet sites. I assume, given his beard from their early days, that he must have brought her to Islam and then they beat feet for the badlands of Afghanistan to await the near inevitable kidnapping.

Anonymous said...

Anyong: You bet. There isn't anything but "fundamentalism written all over this". I couldn't believe my ears last night during his Spiel on CBC. An unusually high-flown talk, especially for the purpose of luring people to feel sorry for him. It was nothing but pitch. Could he be lumped in with Trump?

Anonymous said...

One might have imagined that they would work very hard not to have more children in captivity, but apparently in a space of 5 years they had 4 children. That's a big clue to me that they didn't seem terribly concerned with the consequences of childbirth and the welfare of further children in such a grim setting. Smacks of fundamentalism, for sure.
s

The Mound of Sound said...


I think we're all seeing fundamentalist leanings in this saga.

UU4077 said...

Devil's advocate here: Did every decision you made in your 20's make logical sense?

Lorne said...

The points here all accord with my own views. The most extraordinary aspect of this story to me, and one that set my 'Spidey Sense' tingling, is the fact that they had three children while in captivity, one of whom was apparently murdered.

The conditions of their captivity hardly seem conducive to 'romance.'

UU4077 said...

Lorne - "romance" or isolated intimacy? Have you ever been in such a situation? (Sorry - just a bit more devil's advocate.)

Trailblazer said...

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/14/to-kill-a-mockingbird-harper-lee-mississippi-school-reading-list

Those fundamentalists are everywhere.
They control the US Government and are well organised hence Trumps interest in them.
They wish for Armageddon so they are friggin dangerous.

TB

The Mound of Sound said...

UU4077. How could you ask such a thing? Of course.

The Mound of Sound said...


Lorne, there were four kids. Three came back. I hope there's not more than stupidity behind this guy.

The Mound of Sound said...


Yes, fundamentalism is everywhere,TB. Look at that idiot, judge Roy Moore who is now heading to Congress and openly advocates for a Christian state. My feeling on freedom of religion is that it should only be recognized in conjunction with a right of freedom from religion. These Christo-thugs are making me hostile to their faith.

Anonymous said...

The breathtaking effrontery of Joshua Boyle is beyond the pale. He is demanding that the Afghan government seek out and punish his captors ! Unreal. This idiot and his idiot wife caused untold misery to their families and children by breaking a promise to her parents and going to a war zone knowing its dangers. Moreover, he spouts righteous indignation over being kidnapped and held for ransom because he was a pilgrim going to help folks whose language he does not even speak. He fails to publicly thank the USA for its role but praises the Pakistani special forces and even has the temerity to say that he won’t go to Bagram air base because he disagrees with the American policy in Afghanistan. And finally his parents appear in public without ever acknowledging, contrary to her father, that their son is an idiot ! Give me a break. What has this man’s idiocy cost American and Canadian taxpayers ?

the salamander said...

.. I really don't understand why Boyle did not take his family to Baffin Island and preach to the polar bears.. it would have been a smart warm up for the grim realities of Afghanistan..

Anonymous said...

That priest who got stuck in North Korea for a couple of years and got back a few months ago appeared similarly clueless about world reality. Interviewed on CBC, he needed an interpreter to answer questions with repliesto which made no sense to me. But on 100 Huntley Street he had a perfectly amicable chat in English that still made no sense, but seemed to infuse the hosts with much happiness. God knows why.

This Boyle guy, well, it's all been said by the previous commenters. Another person flying in a cloud of unreality with no engines and disabled flight controls. But looking on the bright side and being unbearably catty, look at the weight he lost! If the family's return caused Justin to execute a pirouette, execute a tap dance to rival Astaire's and pose unrehearsed for a half-dozen selfies with adoring fans, well it must be all good.

Anonymous said...

Boyle tries very hard to disguise his Newfoundland accent but there is a fishy smell about all this.

Online Pregnancy Tip E-mail: templeofanswer@hotmail.co.uk said...


I am VERY happy!Dr.Obodo I just wanted to let you know that i got the Pregnancy test done and I got my results back today they are Positive yeh!!! I just wanted to say a huge thanks for you Dr for the spell and all your support ‘I am so happy’ I cried all the way home in absolute relief.for recommentation visit Dr Obodo Email; templeofanswer@hotmail.co.uk