Rome

RECENTLY, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, a 52-year-old journalist for the center left Italian newspaper La Repubblica, returned safely to Rome after being held for two weeks by Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.

Mastrogiacomo’s safe return following his abduction on March 5th in the volatile southern Helmand province (along with his Afghan driver, who was beheaded in front of him, and his interpreter, whose whereabouts are still unknown) appeared to be a triumphant ending to a nightmarish drama. Instead, the jubilation felt by many Italians subsided as the details surrounding the journalist’s release surfaced.