The Ingrates.

[zoofer]

Peacemakers: callous or naive?
National Post
Published: Saturday, March 25, 2006
Initial reports about the three Christian Peacemaker workers -- two of them Canadian -- freed from captivity in Iraq on Thursday described them as having been "released by their captors." This version of events suited the agenda of spokesmen for the organization who used the hostages' release as a pretext to launch a virulently anti-American diatribe over the emancipation of Iraq. But in fact, the three men were rescued following a weeks-long operation involving British, American and -- apparently -- Canadian special forces.

A U.S. Army spokesman said the hostages had been found tied up in a house in western Baghdad. So in truth, it is coalition soldiers who deserve credit and gratitude for placing their own lives at risk to rescue the would-be "peacemakers." But precious little of either was immediately forthcoming from Doug Pritchard, co-director of the Christian Peacemaker Teams.

In a statement posted on its Web site, the organization expressed joy at its workers' release -- an emotion all Canadians share. But it then went further, declaring their Christian faith compelled them to "love our enemies" even though those same enemies had created "great hardship" -- this an apparent reference to the beating and execution of a fourth captive, an American named Tom Fox, whose bound body was found earlier this month in Baghdad.

While it is unlikely many will admit to any "love" for terrorists, Canadians will still respect the Peacemakers' noble sentiments. But for us, that respect evaporates when Mr. Pritchard et al. demonstrate they can muster no similar feelings for the allies -- those who liberated Iraq from the grips of a ruthless tyrant -- or by extension for the soldiers who saved the lives of Canadians James Loney and Harmeet Sooden and Briton Norman Kember.

Speaking in Toronto, Mr. Pritchard attacked the coalition forces, suggesting that they -- and not the terrorists who kidnapped the team -- were ultimately responsible for the crime: "We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by multinational forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq today."

The Iraqi embassy in Ottawa responded furiously to such a suggestion, accusing the Christian Peacemaker Teams of practising "the kind of politics that automatically nominate them as dupes for jihadism." At the very least the group's statement does ring of zealotry, seeking to turn the situation on its head by using the attention gained from the hostages' release to call "for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq."

Only much later did the Christian Peacemaker Teams add "addenda" to their original statement, explaining they were "grateful" after all for the soldiers who risked their lives to free the hostages.

This afterthought may help offset the initial impression that Mr. Pritchard and his organization were a band of ingrates. It does nothing, however, to change the view that they are either callous or woefully naive in their willingness to risk the lives of aid workers by sending them into Iraq with inadequate preparation in the face of extreme and known dangers. Nor does it answer the Iraqi government allegations that they are willing dupes of jihadis working against the interests of the Iraqi people and its fragile new democratic institutions.

No sooner had the three hostages been freed after four months of captivity than it was announced that other Christian Peacemaker Teams members will be travelling to Iraq. Of course, it is not only the aid workers whose lives will be placed at risk. Considering the persistently grave security situation there, how long before British, American and Canadian forces are once again compelled to undertake another dangerous mission to free them?

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/....html?id=2be60d43-f6f8-4f47-8515-44b632598006

 

[zoofer]

Letter to the Editor.

Where's the gratitude?

National Post
Published: Saturday, March 25, 2006
Like almost all Canadians, we were thrilled to hear of the successful rescue of the three surviving members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). We say "almost all," because surprisingly the Christian Peacemakers do not appear to be among those who applaud the coalition forces who risked their own lives to free the hostages.

In fact, in their statement following the daring rescue, the Christian Peacemaker Teams blamed the coalition as "the root cause of the insecurity which led to the kidnapping" -- not the forces who commit barbaric attacks day after day, who target Iraqi civilians and foreign humanitarian workers. CPT went on to characterize the coalition forces as "occupiers" in Iraq.

Such statements by the Christian Peacemaker Teams only contribute to encouraging these forces, and they put innocent lives at risk.

Sad as it is to say, the CPT shows again how groups who claim to work for peace can become complicit in evil. In the 1930s such groups ended up seeing no difference between Hitler and the democracies; during the Cold War they equated Stalin and his successors with the West; and today they choose to downplay the horror of the Taliban and of Saddam Hussein in their need to vilify the United States.

On behalf of all Canadians, we call on the CPT to stop working against the efforts of Canada and those of our allies who are seeking at great costs to bring freedom and democracy to the people of Iraq. We call on the CPT to apologize to those brave men and women who risked their lives to rescue Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember. And we urge the CPT to end its political campaign which endangers the lives of our coalition forces and innocent civilians in Iraq.

Those who are fighting terrorists in Iraq deserve our praise, not our scorn.

Joseph Shier, vice-president, Canadian Coalition for Democracies, Toronto.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/....html?id=21ab21ba-75d5-461f-9407-9e7c63ddc621

 

[zoofer]

Do not put soldier's lives in danger to rescue any more of these people.
Not worth it IMHO.

 

[Kreskin]

Bush has said he works for God. The organization has thanked God for their release. What more needs to be said?

 

[cortez]

agreed
gratitude has been directly extended to the source of being
to express gratitude to coalition forces might be a form of idolatry.....

 

[Mogz]

Do not put soldier's lives in danger to rescue any more of these people.
Not worth it IMHO.

That won't ever happen zoofer. A soldier does not decide who he does and doesn't rescue, especially if the people he saves from death turn out to be pricks. I agree with you though. These religious idiots never had any sympathy from me. When they were abducted I never felt sorrow, I just didn't care. They put themselves in the situation, they were in effect they reason they were held for 4 months. Their holier-than-thou religion that they so blindly follow serves no purpose in Iraq, and by going there, they simply added to the conflict. How much money do you think it cost for the hostages to be freed? Think about all the resources that would be used to get 3 men out of a situation they predicated. Their response is typical of Western society these days. Westerns badger the military and the Government to no end, except when they need them, then go back to badgering once the crisis has been averted. People like the CPT make me ill, every last one of them.

Luckily though, for the next group of religious fools that blunders around a war zone and ends up adbucted, the special operations assaulters of JTF-2 will be ready. Without them (and their allies) the three hostages would never have been released and ended up dead in Iraq just like Tom Fox. God, Allah, Bishnu, Buhda, didn't free the hostages, elite soldiers putting themselves in harms way in a foreign land did.

 

[#juan]

I have to admit this is a bit like skiers who ignore signs and get themselves in trouble, or dopey hikers who get lost and thousands of dollars are spent using helicopters and search parties to find them. I'm sorry the one American got killed but it isn't as if they had no warning.

 

[mabudon]

I was also reminded of the boaters who need massive coast guard rescues when their little adventures become nightmares (I think it's more common off Australia than it is up here)

and if you really think about it, I wonder how many folks had to be killed to free thesee people.... ("terrorists" or otherwise)

just goes to show what good organized religion serves, in a real good "example" style format- I just hope they can stockpile the bibles til the killing stops, THEN send the folks in, since apparently even "the word" isn't too handy against groups of heavily armed warriors

The whole situation is ridiculous, and at the same time "thanks" AND "sorry" to the brave folks who got them freed from their own deathtrap

 

[Alberta'sfinest]

I don't get why everyone assumes that these guys were just a bunch a religious cookes. I think they were spies that got caught. How else could we emerse spies other than through aid agencies in a war zone? They can get right close to the enemy and can relay information from that vantage point. It's the same as undercover cops. Iraqis aren't so stubborn that they'd turn down aid from Christians during a time of need. They aren't stupid either, and they'd know that using peaceful aid workers for a bargaining chip isn't the best of ideas as it only makes them look heartless, when they need international sympathy. Since the Canadians weren't officially enemy combatents, they were left alive, where as Tom Fox wasn't because he was seen as a enemy combatent. It's likely the JTF-2 forces didn't do anything at all, but it's just a story for publicity, and we'll never know the truth. It's likely that they were traded for aid, weapons, or the release of some of their spies.

The way I see it, the peacemakers, whether they were spies or not, and the JFT-2, whether involved or not, knew the risks they took when they applied for a job to go into active war zones. They were willing to take the risks associated with this, and its hysterical to me that the public feels that their opinion should matter to these brave and courageous men.

It's like these fools that tell me to wear a helmet when snowboarding. The whole reason that I snowboard is because it's an edrenaline sport. By wearing all safety equipment available, I'd be destroying the whole reason for doing it. Without that known risk, the whole rush would be nothing. And when it comes right down to it, I'm the one taking the risk, not them, so why do they care? I've been snowboarding for 10 years now without as much as wristguards. Sure, I've sprained ankles, broke my wrist, and pulled numerous muscles, but despite these injuries I still hurl my body down a mountain at 80 KM/H.

When I look at those guys, I see men who are just like me, who've calculated the risks of their actions, and take part despite them. This is courage, not a disply of ignorance toward the inherent risks.

I'm not really too suprised at most people's opinions, because most of our populous are cowards. Recently a man in my city was beaten to death by four 16 year old kids. It wasn't late, so the bus must have had a bunch of passengers on it, but everyone just stood there and didn't intervene. Its appauling that these kids would do this, but even more appauling that nobody tried to stop it. No wonder all of these panzies want to pull our troops out of afghanistan at the first sign of resistance, because they're the kind of people that would rather run away than stand up and fight back. Peoples unwillingness to stand up for what is right, is the reason why the moral fabric of our country is decaying.

 

[darkbeaver]

What moral fabric are you speaking of, this term moral fabric is often used and never explained in these pages, enlighten us with your moral fabric so that we too may walk
among our fellows wrapped in it's wholesome envelope.

 

[Alberta'sfinest]

Moral fabric is what helps society work together as a whole. Respect, self control, honor, and tolerance is what moral fabric is woven from. Without these 4 things, we are nothing more than a very large pack of wild animals. What is it to everyone else?

 

[darkbeaver]

Re: RE: The Ingrates.

Moral fabric is what helps society work together as a whole. Respect, self control, honor, and tolerance is what moral fabric is woven from. Without these 4 things, we are nothing more than a very large pack of wild animals. What is it to everyone else?

I think you have moral fabric confused with the law, a very large pack of wild animals couldn't phuck up a planet near as good as a large pack of moral wild people have.

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

Sad we waste resources to rescue these idiots from themselves, but that's why our troops are a cut above.

Proud to have served.
M