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These are the same types who think wild animals are our "friends". |
Posted on 11/30/2005 6:17:42 AM PST by Dallas59
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A peace group blamed the United States and Britain for the abduction of four activists shown in an insurgent video, saying the kidnapping was the direct result of the occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile, in the central town of Baqouba, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a minibus early Wednesday, killing nine construction workers and wounding two others, the Diyala police said in a statement.
After a monthslong hiatus in the kidnapping of foreigners, television footage on Tuesday once again showed Westerners held captive: A German archaeologist — bound and blindfolded — knelt among masked gunmen in one video. Four frightened peace activists were shown in another blurry tape.
The latest attacks are part of a new wave of kidnappings police fear is aimed at disrupting next month's national elections.
Christian Peacemaker Teams, a group that has had activists in Iraq since October 2002, said it was saddened by the video of their workers. The workers, the group said, were working against the occupation of Iraq.
"We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. government due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people," the group said.
The group listed the names of those abducted as Tom Fox, 54, of Clearbrook, Va.; Norman Kember, 74, of London; James Loney, 41, of Toronto, Canada; and Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, of Canada.
"We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people," the statement said. "We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates."
On Tuesday, Al-Jazeera broadcast video of the four men held by a previously unknown group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. The group claimed they were spies working under the cover of Christian peace activists.
Loney, a community worker, was leading the Christian group's delegation in Iraq.
The brief, blurry tape was shown the same day a television station displayed a photo of the German hostage. The kidnappers threatened to kill Susanne Osthoff and her Iraqi driver unless Germany halts all contacts with the Iraqi government.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed Wednesday that her government will "not let ourselves be blackmailed" by the Osthoff's kidnappers.
Osthoff and her Iraqi driver were kidnapped Friday, and German's ARD public television said it obtained a video in which the kidnappers made their threats. The station posted a photo on its Web site showing what appears to be Osthoff and her driver blindfolded on the floor, with three masked militants standing by, one with a rocket-propelled grenade.
Merkel said nothing was yet known about the motives or background of the kidnappers but that the government was doing "everything in its power" to return her and her driver to safety.
A German newspaper, the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung, reported that Osthoff had received a kidnap threat last summer from extremists linked to al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and that U.S. soldiers brought her from Mosul to Baghdad for her own safety.
Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman, said he was unaware of the report but if true, such a move would have been with the knowledge of the German government and "we would ultimately leave it to them" to comment.
Germany has ruled out sending troops to Iraq and opposed the U.S.-led war, but has been training Iraqi police and military outside the country.
Iraq was swept by a wave of kidnappings and beheadings of foreigners in 2004 and early 2005, but such attacks have dropped off in recent months as many Western groups have left and security precautions for those who remain have tightened. Insurgents, including al-Qaida in Iraq, have seized more than 225 people, killing at least 38.
It was unclear whether the recent kidnappings were the work of a single group or simply coincidental. However, police believed they may be part of an insurgent campaign to discredit the government and disrupt the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
"Terrorists will try to destabilize the situation during the election period" in order to discourage people from voting, police Maj. Falah Mohammedawi said. "They will try to do this through kidnappings, assassinations and threats to citizens. We have our complete security plan to confront this."
U.S. and Iraqi officials hope a big turnout in the December election will undermine the insurgency and improve chances for the United States and its partners to begin reducing troop levels in Iraq next year.
“We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. government due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,” the group said.
Christian Peacemaker Teams does not consider itself a fundamentalist organization, a spokeswoman said.
“We are very strict about this: We do not do any evangelism, we are not missionaries,” Jessica Phillips told The Associated Press in Chicago. “Our interest is to bring an end to the violence and destruction of civilian life in Iraq.”
The group’s first activists went to Iraq in 2002, six months before the U.S.-led invasion, Phillips said, adding that a main mission since the invasion has been documenting alleged human rights abuses by U.S. forces."
Little Green Footballs
I smell a rat here...I think its all fake....another media scam to make America look bad...like the White Phosphorous deal the Italians made up.....
As I said before...watch these "Christians" be turned loose in order to read some 8 foot long "statement" denouncing Capitalism, America, Bush... the same old stuff...over and over and over again...
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These are the same types who think wild animals are our "friends". |
If it is an occupation, then these people were there as part of it.
I think we need a real clear policy of non interference with these so called "peacemakers" who go over there. That non interference should include allowing them to suffer the consequences of their own stupidity.
If not for our "occupation", does anyone believe these people would have been allowed into Iraq in the first place? What a joke.
You cannot claim to be followers of the Gospel (to evangelion) if you refuse to evangelize.
Lying filth.
These "Christians" would surely turn the other cheek...even if their own child was having his throat slit in front of their eyes...It's the fault of Bush you know...
These guys might be candidates for the Darwin awards.
I'm waiting for the video when the heads get sawn off and sawdust falls out of thier skulls.
I can't wait for the next video..these peacniks need to see some of their own getting a weight reduction by the removal of their heads....I still believe its a fake though
Maybe these idiots just havent hugged the captors enough yet, kissed their feet enough, shown enough comapssion. Surely these terrorists holding them will respond in kind??????
My guess would be an implosion from the vacuum in their heads.
Well, I guess they sure will see the war crimes they so desperately wanted to see.
Just not quite from the angle they wanted.
-"We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. government due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people,"-
Barf! If they're so convinced we've made it a living hell over there; they KNOW the war produced all kinds of unmentionable dangers, then WHY WERE THEY THERE?
These people always use their cohorts like this. I wouldn't want to put my life in the hands of peaceniks. Once there's a sniff of trouble, they turn on you, stab you, give you up, and go onto the next sound bite. Completely disgusting! They really are the dregs of moral society.
Mom always told us that when Liberals walk into the wind you can hear the ocean if you listen closely. :P
Actually, it's because you nitwits were some place you shouldn't belong. Blame yourselves.
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