We really just need him to NEVER let that happen again! I am just way way WAY too fond of this guy.

There were a couple of really gutsy folks from CNN back during the Iraq War in 2003 who went through that sort of harrowing experience, folks who had been around all the hotspots.

But one guy, a fellow I really admired, ended up leaving the field for good because of it. I think it was Michael Ware, but there was another guy too, tall blond fellow and the years have made his name fall out of my head. I loved his hits from the field.

Ah, Nic Robertson. Geez, he's not blond anymore. And he was expelled from Baghdad along with Rym Brahimi, but stayed with CNN. That was scary. I remember back when that happened.

I know Richard isn't either of those guys. Yes, I have had international correspondent envy all my life, and was REALLY jealous when Rachel got to run around with Richard in Afghanistan especially. I know he is very careful. But there are just those random things. IEDs. All that.

I agree, Chris. Richard is one of my few celebrity crushes! I'm glad you do what you do, Richard, and you all are home safe. Thanks for all the places you have taken us.

This was an amazing interview. I first noticed Richard when he was reporting on the Tahrir Square "doings" in Egypt. He is bright, perceptive, thorough, and brave.

The kind of courage shown by these foreign correspondents is incredible. It would be an added plus if an honest and brave presentation would somehow rub off on the talking heads at network news.

Great coverage. This really brings home the type of violence going on over there. There's no real "rules of engagement" over there and they're just lucky the commander wanted them all alive. To what end is a real interesting question. What would have happened if they were brought to their destination?

He didn't mention if the Rebel commander made it out alive. Anyone else know?

What made Engle's story all the more compelling was that the happy ending was a fluke. HIs captors could easily have killed them when they were first caught, when they killed the rebel leader's guard, or in the van, when they realized they were under attack. He's been a fine reporter, and I hope he doesn't start screaming in his sleep three or four months from now.

I don't think he will have any PTSD. Maybe his and his crew's 'adventure' will lead to a more cautious approach for any journalist in the middle east.

Killing in the name of Allah among muslim factions has been going on for 14 centuries. The world would hope these so-called muslim clerics, ayatollahs, and 'supreme' koran scholars would find a way to make religious peace and reduce the tribalism factor among their own. If they would do that, 95% plus of the world's violence would stop. Maybe it is time for Al Jazzera and Al Arabia news organizations to start a series of peaceful approaches and articles to make this happen.

Richard Engel is a fabulous reporter. But he seems to know a lot about the complexities, details of who is backing whom and who is entrenched where, that we rarely get to hear. I was grateful to Rachel for asking about all of that. I lived in the Middle East for two years recently and found out how little gets to the US about what is going on there. That makes it all the more important to have people like Engel who are knowledgable reporting on it. I sure wish we could learn more from him routinely.

(I was waiting, though, to find out what Engel had learned from the experience. Rachel promised in her tease that he would talk about that and that it would be astounding. Maybe she was referring to what he said about the region-wide Shia vs. Sunni battle that might be coming after the Assad regime falls - assuming it does. But it wasn't quite clear to me if that's what she meant.)

That was an incredible story and a great job of bringing it to us by the production team. Thanks to all for a good job, and thank goodness Richard is safe.

I am so grateful to Richard for all the wonderful reporting he has done over the years. I really appreciate all the straight talk and letting us see directly what is really happening in the Middle East. But, Richard, you have tempted the hand of fate once too often! NOW STAY HOME, PLEASE!!

powerful story, thanks

On the general subject of Syria, here is a statement made by Vladimir Putin today to an AP reporter. I'm with Putin. The U.S. is the interventionist aggressor. "Al Qaeda" is a legion of fighters supplied by our oil protectorates Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc. to overthrow non-compliant regimes such as Libya, Syria and Iran. We are risking nuclear war with Russia with this mad policy.

December 21st, 2012 • 9:45 AM

At his annual year-end press conference today, Russian President V.V. Putin answered a question on Syria from foreign press.

QUESTION: Associated Press, Vladimir Isachenkov. My question concerns the situation in Syria. As you know, the Western countries, the Arab League, and Turkey are all in favor of Bashar al-Assad leaving his post, and they say that peace in Syria is not possible without this. Don't you think that Russia's disagreement with this position will lead ultimately to Russia's becoming isolated and losing its influence not only in Syria, but also in the Middle East region as a whole, if Bashar Assad's regime does fall?

VLADIMIR PUTIN: OK, fine. Listen, my dear man, hasn't Russia lost its positions in Libya after what the interventionists set loose there? Regardless of how they have explained their position, the state is falling apart. Ethnic, clan, and tribal conflicts are continuing. Futhermore, there was even such a tragedy as the murder of the U.S. Ambassador. Is this the result of [their] work? I have been asked about mistakes; wasn't that a mistake? Do you want us to repeat these mistakes constantly in other countries?

Our concern is not with the fate of the Assad regime. We understand what's going on and that this family has been in power for 40 years. Of course there is a demand for change. But our concern is something different: what happens next. We do not want to see the current opposition, upon becoming the government, simply launching a fight against the current authorities, who would become the opposition, and so on forever.

Of course we have an interest in the position of the Russian Federation in this region of the world: it is nearby. But we are most of all interested not in our own interests, which are actually not so great; there are practically none. Do we have some kind of special economic relations? No. Has Mr. Assad been constantly in Moscow during his Presidency? Indeed, he has been in Paris and other European capitals more often than here. We advocate finding a solution to the problem which would spare the region and the country from disintegration and endless civil war.

That is our proposal and our position is: not that Assad and his regime remain in power at any cost, but that people first reach agreement among themselves on how they are going to live, and how their security and participation in government is to be assured, and then begin to change the existing order of things in accordance with those agreements. Rather than the reverse, which would be first to drive out and destroy everything, and then try to negotiate. I think that agreements based on a military victory are out of place in this case, and cannot be effective. And what happens there depends above all on the Syrian people themselves.

Fabulous interview (and so cute to start with Rachel showing her buddy on the road photos with Richard). I'm with Rachel, why doesn't he become a boring dentist in the US so he stays safe? I don't think that this is going to happen though.

I'm glad he's alright. He better watch his ass.

Jeremy Renner should play Richard in the movie.