What is wrong with the media? Every person in the comments section of every article on this story expresses horror that parents would voluntarily expose their children to rape, murder and torture in a war zone in Afghanistan, yet not a single journalist challenges their narrative. At the very least they are incompetent parents who have willingly put their children in mortal danger. At worst they are fundamentalist traitors who have spun a story in  a failed attempt to extort millions of dollars in ransom from the West. 
Let's have some critical journalism here. Please.