The latest crisis (or debacle?), i.e., the Algeria hostage crisis/debacle, has yielded some memorable quotes:

Final push: Seven hostages were executed today as Algeria's four-day hostage standoff
came to a bloody end when the country's special forces stormed the remote desert gas plant. Photo: AFP/Getty Images; Courtesy: dailymail.co.uk/

♦ "Algeria hostage situation reportedly comes to violent end..." (Fox News article):

Chabane, an Algerian who worked in food services, said he bolted out the window and was hiding when he heard the militants speaking among themselves with Libyan, Egyptian and Tunisian accents. At one point, he said, they caught a Briton.

"They threatened him until he called out in English to his friends, telling them, `Come out, come out. They're not going to kill you. They're looking for the Americans,"' Chabane said. 

"A few minutes later, they blew him away."

♦ "Al Qaeda, Again: The terrorists don't seem to agree that they've been defeated" (Wall Street Journal editorial):

"Between his Inaugural address Monday and the State of the Union speech next month, we hope President Obama finds space to include some comments on Algeria. And Mali. And Benghazi. This isn't an attempt at foreign-policy snark. It's an effort to see the world as it is."

"...An official with the Obama Administration said the U.S. government urged Algeria to be "cautious" and mindful of the hostages' safety. Who could disagree? But let us also posit that the Administration's attitude toward these recent events looks increasingly unworldly."

♦ Reader Comment (from above-mentioned WSJ editorial):

"White House Press report: A group that does not exist did not kill Americans in Libya; did not grow in force in Mali causing France (!!) to take action (repeat - France to take action - you don't see that in print very often); and did not attack a gas plant in Algeria.

White House Update: It was the video."

♦ Columnist Mark Steyn, in an interview on Hugh Hewitt's radio show about the Algeria hostage crisis:

"At some point, Americans have to ask themselves — they're responsible for 43 percent of the world's military spending. Why can't they do a raid on Entebbe? Why on earth does that have to be outsourced to Algerian special forces? Is this just another job Americans won't do? At some point, Americans have to get serious about these questions."