'Not without my daughter' obsession?

I hope I'm mistaken but it seems the US media has gotten into a fairly recent frenzy about Jordan-related news that has a distinct Not without my daughter flavor about it. Here is one example with headline:

Estranged Jordanian father charged in Ashby kidnapping

The estranged husband of an Ashby mother who has not seen her daughterin 11 years was arraigned in Ayer District Court Wednesday on onecount of kidnapping of a minor by a relative.Mhad Kadter, a citizen of both the United States and Jordan, wasarrested in Ohio with the cooperation of the FBI, the National Centerfor Missing Children and Interpol.

And yet another:

Kidnapped boy, now 15, reunites at last with mom

For 14 years, Kathleen Ziadeh longed to see her only son, Zaid, who asa toddler was abducted to the Mideast by his Jordanian father tired oflife in the United States. During those years, Ziadeh and the child's grandmother, BarbaraDooley, lobbied U.S. presidents and Jordanian royalty, sought helpfrom the State Department and courts overseas, and even had the weightof a national newspaper columnist behind them. But none of their efforts succeeded in bringing back Zaid or easing their heartbreak ...