Freeing a convicted terrorist has bought Germany nothing. Davidsmedienkritik reports that a German official has been kidnapped in Yemen:

A former German government minister, his wife and three children were kidnapped in Yemen on Wednesday, local officials said, and one of their captors said their lives would be at risk if Yemen used force to free them. (...)

Chrobog, 65, was Germany's ambassador to the United States from 1995 to 2001.

This November he was quoted in our blog as a admirer of "soft power". He will need any kind of power now, soft or hard.

Why he would travel to Yemen during these troubled times is beyond me. Having a history of sharp anti—American criticism ("America is turning into a police state"), Chrobog probably assumed he'd be safe...

Let's hope that Germany doesn't free any more terrorists to gain his freedom.