"Giuliana Sgrena Admits Hostage Hoax"

That is the provocative headline of today's Jawa Report. Though the story that then links to AIR is not quite as clear-cut as the headline suggests, it is clear that Sra. Sgrena was indeed working in concert with her "captors".

"She did suggest that she appeal to the Italian people to demonstrate in favour of a withdrawal of the country’s 3,000 troops. But when the guards filmed her, they told her the film wasn’t dramatic enough. She was a hostage, they insisted, she must be more convincing and ordered her to make a direct appeal to her boyfriend of 25 years, Pier Scolari. For the first time, Sgrena broke down in tears.

“Usually I cry over even the tiniest things, but until then I hadn’t cried. I realised I could talk directly to Pier, and I became emotional. I knew that he would never give up,” she says."

Now this is quite a scene isn't it? The "hostage" suggests what the demands for her release should be. When the film of her appeal is made, she is not emotional enough, so the captors employ Lee Strassberg-like methods to get the performance they're looking for.

By the way, the Google search on "Sgrena, kidnap hoax" is now up to 155 hits.

UPDATE:
From Captains' Quarters:

In fact, it appears more and more that the kidnaping may not have been all that random, and the tearful pleas for her life -- which even Sgrena now says she exaggerated -- designed to extract the maximum cash for the factions she supports. Nicola Calipari may have died to free a woman who never was in danger in the first place.

The Tawana Brawley comparison is looking more and more likely.