Maybe you should reconsider that trip to the souq in Marrakech

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has made a flourishing business out of kidnapping foreigners in the western Sahara and Sahel. It's sort of like the landlocked version of the Somali pirates that always feature on the news. Millions of dollars are changing hands as governments and corporations are meeting the demands of the terrorists! Yes, terrorists. It seems to me that it's sort of like not disciplining a recalcitrant child, the more you do nothing and pander to his or her wishes, the worse off the community becomes. One U.S. military official has said, "Paying ransom for hostages held by al Qaeda in Africa just encourages more kidnappings and hands the militant network a global propaganda boost!"

Dealing with militants in this fashion also provides a propaganda boost to terrorist and teorrism, allowing AQIM to taunt the French government, saying the release of the Spanish hostages was a: "lesson for the French secret services to take into consideration in the future," referring to failed Mauritanian-French raid in Mali in July that aimed to rescue French hostage Michel Germaneau and in which seven AQIM members were killed. They had the chance to act responsibly and use their heads with the mujahedeen and avoid the madness and anger that led to the deaths of their citizens."