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Dangerous peacemaking
Toronto Sun ^ | 2006-03-25 | Michael Coren

Posted on 03/25/2006 4:17:02 AM PST by Clive

It is wonderful news that three members of what are known as Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), two of them Canadian, were freed in Iraq this week after being held hostage since before Christmas. Yet some questions certainly need to be asked.

What, for example, were these men doing there in the first place? They were warned of the dangers -- more than 400 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq and 55 of them murdered.

Nor do they seem to have achieved anything of importance. This immoral war is more brutal than ever and there is no peace in the specific area where they lived.

It's been argued that Muslim leaders called for their release and that this proves that bridges were built.

Not at all. It's easy to speak up for those who are on your side and can be used as propaganda tools. Much harder, and more a test of character, to champion your enemies. We need to ask why the same Muslim leaders have not cried out for other hostages, most of them harmless and good men and women.

What these men did accomplish was to occupy the time and resources of numerous politicians, civil servants, aid workers and soldiers. Time and resources that could and should have been spent on other people who were in trouble.

Time and resources that could have gone towards helping Iraqis, 10-20 of whom are kidnapped every day, but about whom we read and hear very little because they are not Western, middle-class and privileged.

And here surely is the point. These men were there, perhaps with noble intentions, because they could go there. Not so when Saddam was murdering Kurds or Syria wiping out villages. Because if well-meaning yet colossally naive Westerners had done so they would have been killed without a second thought.

Such "peacemakers" tend to be highly selective in where they choose to make peace.

The hostages and their organization also insisted that no force should be used in their rescue. Indeed, the leaders of the group now seem be showing a staggering lack of grace and gratitude toward those who liberated their friends.

Rude and selfish. Citizens have rights and governments have responsibilities. If terrorists thought that Canadians were easy victims and may not be rescued, it would make other Canadians obvious targets for kidnap. In other words, the obsession of a handful would endanger the majority.

In my view, the fetish for non-violence is in itself fundamentally un-Christian. It is entirely Christian, for example, to use force to stop a murderer or controlled violence to prevent a rape.

Also Christian, one would have thought, to take a whip to moneychangers in the Jerusalem temple! As opposed to the "long-term friend of the CPT" who wrote to me recently (the following is an actual e-mail):

"I'm a wiccan. We are all struggling to re-kickstart the protest movement in T.O. in the face of rampant apathy, rampant sexism, rampant plutocracy, no f---ing, no fun.

"Did you ever meet Ken Q.? He came to ACT for Disarmament demonstrations in a pink bloody tutu. Now that's my kind of man. (He's retired to a small island on the West Coast now.) Pax, and all that sh--, Smokey." Quite so.

Some of us, fools that we are, would never have the time to travel to Iraq and make political statements. We're too busy paying the rent, raising our children, caring for aging parents and other such banal and apparently unnecessary tasks.

Oh, and paying taxes so that our diplomats and soldiers can help rescue people who really should know better.


TOPICS: Canada; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: canada; christianpeacemaker

1 posted on 03/25/2006 4:17:03 AM PST by Clive
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To: Great Dane; Alberta's Child; headsonpikes; coteblanche; Ryle; albertabound; mitchbert; ...

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2 posted on 03/25/2006 4:17:55 AM PST by Clive
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To: Clive
I sense a lot of anger growing against these fools. Interestingly enough, it is gaining in Canada and the UK, homelands of the surviving useful idiots. It reminds me somewhat of the Japanese "hostages" that were released. Much displeasure from the media and the people on that one.

The Italians, however, have allowed the horrid Sgrena to spout her venom. She should be the next one shunned.
3 posted on 03/25/2006 4:24:43 AM PST by Patriot from Philly
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To: Clive
Amazing how these cowards always portray their empowerment of evil as "moral". Actually they represent a complete vacuum of morality.
4 posted on 03/25/2006 4:29:02 AM PST by MNJohnnie (I'll try to be NICER, if you will try to be SMARTER!)
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To: Clive
...showing a staggering lack of grace and gratitude toward those who liberated their friends.

These are partisans, posing as peacemakers, trying to lead the way by self-righteous deeds. Fools through and through. After all, what did they accomplish?

5 posted on 03/25/2006 4:34:54 AM PST by ThirstyMan (hysteria: the elixir of the Left that trumps all reason)
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To: Clive

When terrorist sympathizers (a.k.a. "peace activists") go to Iraq to give aid and comfort to the enemies of civilization and get captured by their terrorist friends, they should be left to the tender mercies of those friends.


6 posted on 03/25/2006 4:36:47 AM PST by libstripper
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To: Patriot from Philly
There is a growing resentment against these idiots here in the UK. Not I think with their ideas (many agree with them) but with their lack of grace or good manners - not even publicly thanking the forces for rescuing them and refusing a seat on a military plane to get them home! Just not British or even showing common courtesy .

They are not heroes and they should be treated as traitors.

As a Christian and a Brit I want to distance myself from their dangerous arrogance. Kind regards.
7 posted on 03/25/2006 4:37:58 AM PST by vimto ("I've seen the future of Islam, Guess what? We won!")
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To: Clive; GMMAC; Pikamax; Former Proud Canadian; Great Dane; Alberta's Child; headsonpikes; Ryle; ...
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8 posted on 03/25/2006 4:39:34 AM PST by fanfan ( "We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality" - Ayn Rand)
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To: vimto
I think there is a difference between having some misgivings about a brutal war and agreeing with these clowns. These are not just people who oppose the war. They have collaborated with the enemy and supported Saddam.

The British people have a lot of common sense, and I suspect their resentment with these fools will only grow.

But I agree, their lack of courtesy and graciousness is appalling.

Understand a British publication is reporting they refused to cooperate fully with the intelligence debriefers.
Appalling.
9 posted on 03/25/2006 4:44:47 AM PST by Patriot from Philly
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To: Clive

I had read that these so called "peacemakers" were a bunch of ingrates to their rescuers.Instead of peace they didn't accomlish anything but stir up trouble.Reagen would have told them to stay the hell out or they would be on their own.They can end up like the dumb bitch who got flattened by the bulldozer for all I care for being idiots.


10 posted on 03/25/2006 4:59:06 AM PST by Uncle Meat
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To: Patriot from Philly
Yes they do seem to have refused the debriefing.

Your post is spot on. Many people in the UK (I would say most) do not agree with the Iraq war. I disagree with them - but in general the debate is honest and even those who are opposed wish the allied troops no harm and have reasonable good faith in the armed forces.

Kimber and his colleagues have shown themselves in a bad light.
11 posted on 03/25/2006 4:59:57 AM PST by vimto ("I've seen the future of Islam, Guess what? We won!")
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To: Clive
From the British tab, the Sun: Norman snubs SAS heroes

Check out the last 4 paragraphs...

12 posted on 03/25/2006 5:03:42 AM PST by mewzilla (Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist. John Adams)
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To: mewzilla

These guys are political activists, not PEACE activists. One of them was pictured with a sign that "Israel equaled apartheid". No one who is interested in PEACE would stand in the middle east with such a sign. These guys are provocateurs and have nothing to do with peace (or Christianity for that matter).


13 posted on 03/25/2006 11:27:04 AM PST by ex_desert_cowboy
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To: mewzilla

No statement from the dead guy?


14 posted on 03/25/2006 1:35:30 PM PST by freema (Proud Marine FRiend, Mom, Aunt, Sister, Friend, Wife, Daughter, Niece)
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