Christian Peacemakers freed!
Norman Kember, Harmeet Sooden, and James Loney were taken from an empty building in a rural area northwest of Baghdad early this morning by British soldiers. Thanks be. Tom Fox's murder is a somber counterpoint to this joyful news. The men were taken to hospital in the Green Zone, but apparently only as a precaution, and should soon be able to see their friends in the Christian Peacemaker Teams and then their families.
The British embassy clearly wished to make this appear as a military operation, emphasizing that U.S. and British forces took part. Foreign Minister Jack Straw said, "It followed weeks and weeks of very careful work by our military and coalition personnel in Iraq, and many civilians as well." Mmm-hm. No shots were fired, the captors were not around. This was a negotiated release. For which I am deeply thankful.
Labels: peace
posted by Nell @ 9:50 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
Where were you people when Saddam was torturing his people and killing them in mass. Our soldiers go out of thier way and substantially increase the risk to themselves trying to keep the loss of civilian lives to a minimum. Unless you were there in the fog of a firefight you are in no
position to judge the decisions of those that were there.
As ungrateful as the CPers seem to be for the RESCUE of their members maybe the next headline should be about another raid on the site they were held. This time to return them to their captors.
David Parry
Harrisburg, PA
Where were they, David? The US was supporting Saddam then, when lots of good people were struggling against his regime? Or doesn't your memory (or taste for reality) go that far back? Oh and by the way it's "en masse," not that someone like you seems educated enough to know that.
David, I confess I quit reading very closely after "you people", but thank you for reading, commenting, and for using your name.
I don'r recall seeing any CPers protesting our "support" of Saddam back then. Why were they "good people struggling against his regime" and now we are vilified for having removed him? If Germany, France, and Russia had supported the US position prior to the war maybe Saddam would have given in to the UN resolutions and there would not have been a war.
Possibly if more people denounced the tactics of the insurgents as much as they do our soldiers there would be less of the violence and loss of life.
No I do not have a college education but it does not mean I am uneducated or unale to think for myself as you seem to imply Elayne.
David
David: maybe Saddam would have given in to the UN resolutions and there would not have been a war.
Saddam did give in to the UN resolution, and there was always going to be a war regardless of what he did. Inspectors entered Iraq in December 2002, went everywhere they wished for three months, and found no weapons and no weapons programs. Bush and Blair were determined to have their war regardless of what happened with the inspectors or in the UN Security Council. This was already clear from many other pieces of evidence, but the memo of a meeting between them in January 2003 reported this week demonstrates that beyond any doubt.
Being better than a brutal dictator doesn't make U.S. occupiers "good guys." They're just people -- people being put in an impossible position, being asked to do what cannot be done. They should be brought home now.
Saddam himself said he did not think the US would invade as long as France, Germany, and Russia supported him.
Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree and enjoy our freedom to do so.
David
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