March 23, 2006

Ungrateful Peaceniks Rescued by Coalition Forces


The three remaining Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) members held hostage in Iraq were rescued by U.S. and British forces this morning. Good news, right? Absolutely. Kudos to the young troops that rescued them? Not quite.

The CPT statement begins:


"Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad."

Released? They were rescued by the same military forces that they vilify in the rest of the statement.

"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. The occupation must end."

Not one word of thanks or even acknowledgement.

From an earlier CPT "Statement of Conviction":

"We reject the use of violent force to save our lives should we be kidnapped, held hostage, or caught in the middle of a violent conflict situation. We also reject violence to punish anyone who harms us."

Hard to feel sympathy for these people.

(Read my earlier post on this group.)