Your blaming these Christian missionaries angers me.
It is the terrorists who brought us into war who endanger our troops and all of us.
An armed escort is no guarantee of safety.
I believe the Lord judges the deepest motivations of the heart which the rest of us cannot fully understand.
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD , you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars [1] ;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the LORD ;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD ,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the LORD ;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD ,
even as we put our hope in you.
I also know that escorts are no guarantee.
It is a simple consideration in this particular war zone...and it is far more of a guarantee than traveling Iraq's roads unescorted. Our enemies do look for lone taxis, and taxis accompanied by armed US military - and they know how the press will hype a civilian death, especially a civilian doing good.
Our troops try to escort when they can. It is not a lot to ask of them, as they are there, many of them, doing God's work as well...and risking their lives daily to escort missionaries in a land that will remain highly volatile especially up to the June 30th date of 'sovereignty'.
Our troops need every chance to stabilize this nation enough for the terrorists to lose the battle of wills and international PR - which our troops already fight along with the very deadly enemies in Iraq.
When it is safer for the missionaries to travel, when their actions don't hurt our other faithful - when Iraq is free - the opportunities they will have in this newly free land after over 30 years is hard to imagine.
Until then, especially now, they need to be so careful.
I'm sorry I offended you.
Our troops are God's warriors, too....and deserve the respect and consideration any brother would give another doing similar work.
The church, it seems, is too often against our military. I am easily offended by those who treat our brave troops as second-class citizens, especially with this major battle between good and evil taking place.
My apologies for my temper.