Jawa Report has video of the 4 western peace activists taken hostage in Iraq by The Swords of Righteousness [Truth], an Islamic resistance group. The post includes a transcript revealing the names of the other three hostages (previously, only Norman Kember had been identified). The hostages are accused of spying.
We have not seen videotaped executions in some time, and the purported Zawahiri letter to Zarqawi expressed concern with the practice—which I must say makes this incident rather strange, particularly given that those taken are “peace activists.”
Are we seeing a redoubling of efforts to recruit jihadists to fight the infidels? Or is something else happening here (say, for instance, the hostages are soon released with much fanfare as a sign of “mercy” to those who don’t wish to “wage war with Islam”) as part of a PR campaign?
Either way, my thoughts and prayers go out to the hostages and their families.
Another translation of the transcript here (original Arabic here)
Ditto on the thoughts and prayers, Jeff.
I have a slightly different take–this is a clear sign of weakness on the part of the terrorists. Car bombs are making everyone hostile, the Iraqi forces will shoot back, and the Americans will shoot first. Kinda restricts the room for maneuver for the bastards.
Ditto the wishes for their safe return.
Let the moral not be lost on the peaceniks, though:
The jihadis don’t care how much you hate George W. Bush. You are still an infidel and you must still be eliminated.
The War On Terror is to protect you too, not just conservatives. The jihadis would kill you as quick as they would any of us. They cannot be marched, clapped, sung, demonstrated or wished away.
Once upon a time, a kindly friar found a wounded snake in his garden. He took the serpent into his humble house, tended its wounds and cared for it till it recovered.
When it recovered, it bit the friar. As the friar lay dying, he called out “o serpent, I cared for you and nursed you back to health, why have you betrayed me!.” “Because I’m a snake”, said the serpent as he slithered away.
They had done simmillar things last year. Remember the French journalist and her interpriter who were eventually freed. And yet they also slaughtered others (well, shot). Savages. And the left is jsut so sure that we just need to love them more. I guess daddy touched them too often. Oh wait, he probably did.
I think wishbone is on the right track. If you were running a “resistance group” with limited resources you’d be looking for efficient methods of gaining attention (publicity for your group) and injuring your enemy.
Straightforward confrontation of US and Iraqi troops is probably too costly in terms of manpower.
Roadside bombs, mortars, and generally indiscriminate killing – anything where Iraqis are killed – is probably bad for publicity and “the cause.” They’re also probably a constant drain on resources.
A kidnapping is a reletively low-tech, low-manpower, high-publicity activity. There’s also a very low chance of injuring Iraqis. This makes it ideal for PR purposes, but does not significantly damage the enemy.
I take those points, but it is also precisely the kind of thing that would redouble American resolve—particularly if they were to murder “peace activists.”
If anything is going to hammer home the point to the wobbly paper tigers, it’s something like this.
So it’s odd to me. It could be that they are just not as brilliant on the PR front as we sometimes give them credit for being (witness UBL coming out before the Presidential elections); or it could be that they think a release of hostages will make the point that their beef really only is with “occupiers.”
Yes, I definitely hope they’re rescued. Naivete and idealism aren’t grounds for execution. Having said that, I hope that, if they are rescued, it’s not at the expense of the lives of any honorable coalition soldiers. Irony I can handle–just not that much irony.
I think something is fishy about this.
I hope and pray for their release anyway.
Still could be a stunt.
Count me as unsure about the ‘stunt’ angle as well. From their webpage on the history of CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) its clear that they’re actively working with Iraqis to hamper US efforts. And no prizes to guess what sort of Iraqis would like help in that arena.
So… captives? Pawns? Willing martyrs? It’s hard to say. But when you place yourself in great danger, it’s hardly surprising to find your life in jeopardy. I too hope they are released unharmed, but oddly they themselves may not share that wish.
There’s a problem with this?
Are these not the same folks that are aiding and abetting?
Two words: Rachel Corrie.
I think it would be wise to hold off on accusing these folks of bad faith. I have my questions about the PR benefits of a public kidnapping (as I outline in the post), but I don’t want to assume the worst of hostages.
True, true.
They are there to, officially, get in the way. I have a hard time screwing up much sympathy.
The fact that the hostage takers are from a previously unheard of organization was one of the things that gave me pause.
But still, I’m not willing to think that people who might get their heads sawed off on camera actually deserve it. It may be true, ultimately, that they brought it on themselves by being where they were and doing what they were doing; but that isn’t the same as saying they deserved it.
Anyway, I’m just thinking out loud here. It’s quite possible I’ll change my mind once all the facts are in.
I am with Jeff and everyone who is stating the obvious that yes, may all four return home unharmed.
But much like “peace” activist Giuliana Sgrena, I question the point of folks like the CPT (Christian Peacemakers Team) of going to Iraq to attempt to do what exactly? Get in the way of the US troops trying to kill suicide bombers? How is this helping further peace? Don’t these folks realize that leaving now would only cause even more bloodshed for the Iraqi people? Why is killing a suicide bomber-to-be, which prevents god knows how many innocent deaths such a bad thing?
And just like the pre-war peace activists, do they honestly think things would be better for Iraqi’s if they left Saddam alone?
I will always pray that innocent people do not get harmed needlessly, but after reading their raison d’etre for being in Iraq, I question just how innocent they really are.
If you walk in to a building where you know there is a shoot out going on and you get shot, are you an innocent victim?
Whoa! UBL came out?! I somehow missed that. Does clear up a few things, though.
NOTHING is going to hammer home the point to committed lefties. If these guys are decapitated, I expect them to blame Bush with their last breaths. Same with a nuke in Tel Aviv, London, NYC, or a globe-spanning bio-terror nightmare.
That’s lesson #1 of the WoT: Independence Day is a pleasing fiction. If the saucers ever show up, 10-20% of Americans will root for the green guys.
Unless a Democrat happens to be president at the time.
I would honestly be surprised if anything happened to these hostages. The terrorists are pretty media savvy minus the occasional dorkup (See Zarqawi, Jordan) and should know they have much more to gain releasing the peace activists.
And, as much as I hate the terrorists, I have to admit “Sword of Righteousness” is a pretty bad ass name. Not to be confused with “Scimitar of Most Heinous Doom” or “+3 Battle Ax of Allah Pissivity”.
disclaimer: I feel for these people, and I pray for their safe return.
They will be made to grovel on television, blindfolded, kept chained and in tiny cages, fed some lentils once a day, threatened, unable to contact their families. They will be certain they will be beheaded at any moment, knowing so many before them have been.
When they are released (or rescued, they will tell the press they were treated well by their captors. They will always believe the US is evil for having a prison like Guantanamo Bay. They and the press will never see the irony.
Those taken hostage think that we, the US, are the enemy in Iraq.
At Rusty’s there are several “peacenik” commentators who know these guys. They’re moonbats plain and simple, way out there. Sorry. I can’t summon much outrage at their being taken hostage.
It’s as if the Palestinians had taken Rachel Corrie hostage.
Are the lives of these idiots worth the life of one of our soldiers?
Speaking as a Soldier. I’ll go.
Jim in Chicago—idiots they may be (the boat is still out on that one), but, yes, their lives are worth the life of a soldier. That’s what we signed up for. Even the delusional get protected.
Hmmmm.
Sorry but anybody who goes to Iraq with such a naive attitude deserves whatever he gets. Really now. What kind of idiot does that? These schmucks went into terrorist la-la-land with no guards and no concern for their own safety? What? The previous 35 “peace activists” taken hostage isn’t enough of a clue for them?
Here’s my take. If these schleps get released it’ll be because the terrorists were paid in full. If that happens then I’ve got to wonder if that wasn’t the intent all along.
Is this a hostage drama? Or is it just a fundraising scheme?
Wasn’t the group that grabbed Segrena also previously (and subsequently) unheard of?
I expect a similar “compassionate” release in a couple of weeks.
In which case, they’d better hope that U.S. (or Iraqi) forces don’t get wind of where they’re being held beforehand.
So ed, in other words “screw ‘em”?
I disagree. Naive people are often their own worst enemies, but that doesn’t mean they deserve any evil that befalls them.
One can only hope these people live to see that they were, in fact, naive.
Hmmm.
Sure. Look how many people have been kidnapped in Iraq? Is there any definitive number? Isn’t the single biggest crime in Iraq kidnapping for profit? Haven’t NGO’s left Iraq because of the kidnappings?
Is there anyone on Earth that hasn’t seen the Berg video?
Sorry but if someone thinks that describing himself as a “peace activist” is going to make him immune to people who are willing to cut the heads off of innocent people, then that person is an idiot and deserves every last thing that happens.
And if nothing does happen then I really have to wonder if that wasn’t the intent all along. That becoming a hostage is a means for fundraising for the terrorists. That the cache of being a hostage would be very useful in writing a book and getting a nice advance.
We’ll see what happens. But there is no way that I have even a drop of sympathy for these twits.
So who does deserve the evil that befalls them?
ed…..do you recall those 4 contractors murdered in Fallujah by the insurgents? Perhaps you recall what what Kos about them? If not, he said:
“Screw ‘em”
Congratulations, you are emulating the dirt bag Kos Sacks.
Yeah, these CPT are idiots for doing what they are doing, and where they are doing it. It may be a staged affair. So what? That’s not the soldier’s problem.
And not yours, I’m happy to say.
Just so people understand that I am fully aware of what these moonbats are doing in Iraq, here’s a quote from the ”Christian Peacemaker Teams” website:
Emphasis is mine. Note the mindless leftie talking points. And there’s more after that. Michael Moore couldn’t do a better job at supporting the terrorists and insurgency. They are little more than human shields.
If these people are rescued by Coalition or Iraqi forces, the CPT fools will be ungrateful and abusive. Hopefully, no friendlies get wounded or killed in the process, because CPT won’t care.
But so what? CPT already doesn’t care. The left doesn’t care (all of their moaning over US casualities is nothing but crocodile tears). And the soldiers still do their job and rescue these cretins. Because it’s necessary, and righteous in the end, in spite of CPT and their spiritual brethern.
Iraq – a Baghdad-based presence since October 2002. Team members accompanied the Iraqi people through the U.S.-led 2003 war and continue during the post-war occupation to expose abusive acts by U.S. Armed Forces and support Iraqis committed to nonviolent resistance
Also from their website.
Hold on…
wait a minute…
nope, no sympathy.
Oooh, they are soooo going to say they were well treated. I can feel it in my bones.
Too bad they aren’t Japanese. Their families would be apologizing to the nation for causing trouble.
hey Real_Jeff_S and RTO– thank you.
Real Jeff and RTO, you guys are much better men than I Gunga Din.
That said, and this is a question I keep asking myself everytime some “peace” activist or journalist does/writes something idiotic in/about Iraq. Would it have been tolerated in WW2?
These folks are collaborators with the fascists. In 1944-45, people like them got strung up and no one shed a tear or even batted an eyelash.
And I don’t think it’s fair to compare Ed to a Kossak. The guys that got murdered in Fallujagh were trying to rebuild Iraq. These other folks?
Jim —
As I say, they might have brought this on themselves—and I’m not going to say there isn’t a bit of irony to it—but it’s possible that they joined a group like this because they are truly committed to pacifism of some such, and the group provided them with a means to get to Iraq, have food and shelter, etc.
It’s also quite possible they were actively helping the terrorists, in which case, sure, I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for them. I might have more for their families—and I don’t think any human should be beheaded on videotape after being made to mouth some phony confession.
Would it have been tolerated in WW2?
No.
Then Ed needs to stop emulating Kos.
I also wonder if it’s a set-up. I’m sure if they are released, they will talk about how compassionate their captors were.
If not, can you say “Margaret Hassan”? Made no difference whatever to the so-called peace movement.
I gotta side with Jeff on this one. There are some people that are really “fucked up in the head” as you all know just from the troll traffic. That doesn’t mean that they need to lose those fucked up heads.
We need to make every effort to get them free, with heads intact, and then boot their asses out of Iraq.
Caveat. If they are actively assisting the terrorists and causing casaulities on our side – blow their heads off. Until that is established as fact, we presume them to be innocent non-combatants, with shit for brains.
tw: future – theirs isn’t looking too good right now.
CPT on their history page speaks about their founding by Mennonite, Brethren and Quaker church members.
I was raised Mennonite and I do believe that these people are there truly believing in their cause. Peace churches, at least on the administrative end, are very pro-pacifism.
However, this is exactly the type of activity supported by church hierarchy that is driving a wedge between them and many church members themselves.
This group is also actively in Israel protesting for the Palestinians in the “occupied territories” and on the US/Mexican border making sure that illegal immigrants aren’t abused by captors.
I want them to get back safely. When they get home I’d like to bitch slap every one of them.
Hmmmm.
Who is emulating Kos?
1. Nice strawman there. This has nothing to do with the 4 contractors and you damn well know it. If you want to really have a debate, then let’s debate. If all you want to do is cast aspersions, then go fuck yourself.
2. These “hostages” weren’t blindfolded.
3. These “hostages” weren’t bound or tied up.
4. These “hostages” weren’t abused or beaten.
Notice any other differences between these 4 and all of the other people kidnapped *and killed* by terrorists?
This isn’t a couple months into the War, this is 2+ years into it. This is years into an endless repetition of kidnappings of “peace activists”. How is it that so many of these goofy “peace activists” keep on going to Iraq and constantly get kidnapped? How is it that so much money has been handed over to these creeps for the liberty of these self-styled “peace activists”?
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t all of the anti-war types calling Iraq a hell-hole? Aren’t they all complaining about the constant violence, the deaths, the kidnappings and the murders? How is it that so many of these anti-war types end up going to Iraq with no security?
If you’ve spent the last 2+ years complaining about how dangerous a country is, would you pack your bags and go there without a single thought for security?
Frankly I’m not going to weep for people who knowingly walk into a situation like that.
Ed  You gotta learn the game. We don’t get to indulge in the same rhetoric as the Kossies. They get called on it, we don’t.
ed said:
Perhaps I oversimplify matters here, but when someone is willing to flush 4 lives down the toilet because of ideological differences, I go colorblind, and can’t tell the difference between “red” and “blue”.
People may die at the hands of terrorists. Four of them. You said “Screw ‘em”. Bottom line, that’s what Kos did, after the contractors were dead…..and was vilified for it. And rightly so, else we are little better than the terrorists. You need to consider that, given that the people (no matter how stupid they are) aren’t even dead yet.
You are effectively rooting for the terrorists to kill the CPT people. Nice. Real nice. Excuse me if I call you on it.
No, on second thought, don’t excuse me. You earned it.
I demobilized two weeks ago after a 1 year tour in Kuwait. Not quite Iraq, but I was directly supporting the war effort. I could go to Iraq if my skills are needed there. I’ve never complained about the dangers in Iraq….and I have many friends and a relative still there.
And that’s all I am going to say on the matter.
The Real JeffS  But hey, at least they support the troops … OK, somebody’s troops…
Before I sound too noble…
I’d do all I could to save tehm with every intention of making certain they knew exactly what I thought of ‘em all teh way home.
TW: Stuck—“Heh. I’m not stuck in here with you….you’re stuck in here with ME!”
Oh, absolutely, RTO. Those cretins deserve a good ass chewing. But they have to be alive for that to happen.
But a strictly professional bitch slapping, mind you. Something that a good NCO can deliver…..
Welcome home JeffS..
Thank you
I understand the argument that these people are miguided, and I did see the somewhat distant parallel to Kos and the contractors. However, it is also true that much of the Left also paints the terrorists and many of their indigenous supports as merely misguided fools who know not what they do, and therefore our talk about evil is excessive.
So really, what’s the difference between these activists, whose organization is quite obviously trying to handicap the US and its allies, and the resistance itself? Would we be praying for them if they weren’t white and European, but Sunni Arabs openly helping the resistance?
If anything, it seems these fools are even worse, they saw and experienced the opportunities we have in the west firsthand, and still do their damndest to support those trying to undermine it.
Tough call.
“So really, what’s the difference between these activists, whose organization is quite obviously trying to handicap the US and its allies, and the resistance itself? Would we be praying for them if they weren’t white and European, but Sunni Arabs openly helping the resistance?”
To expound, even assuming it isn’t a stunt to raise money for the resistance, it seems to me at least a case of blue on blue within the insurgency.
Heh, richard, just hit your link. Sounds like MoveOn.org should be crying “The British are coming! To arms!”
Thanks, Tink! It’s good to be back.
“Oh, absolutely, RTO. Those cretins deserve a good ass chewing. But they have to be alive for that to happen.
But a strictly professional bitch slapping, mind you. Something that a good NCO can deliver…..”
Another thing. At the very least, they should be tried for sedition or a similar charge. We’ve tolerated too much for too long.
These people openly admit they’re supporting our enemies. They claim ‘non-violent’ resistance, but how much non-violent resistance have we seen? Even assuming this, Tokyo Rose’s or Lord Haw Haw’s actions were just as “nonviolent.”
From the CPT press release:
emphasis mine
Anybody else puzzled by that statement?
When it comes to people like this, you almost have to ignore their reasons for being there and their ideology. I don’t think anyone really wants to see these four people die- I know I don’t. At the same time, I think the gist of what Ed is saying is that these “peace activists” know exactly what they’re getting into when they go to Iraq. I expect in the new week or so we’ll find out more about what they were doing there- if they were actively aiding the jihadists, then in my opinion, they become the enemy. The distinction drawn between the contractors that kos so callously commented on and these folks are that the contractors were actively working to make Iraq a safer and better place (and being paid for it). These peace activists, whether they are honestly committed to peaceful ideals or just suffering from BDS, are likely hampering attempts to make Iraq a better place, as non-violent confrontation will make no headway with head chopping jihadists and more then likely just serves to get in the way of people who really do want to make a positive difference in Iraq (like our troops).
I don’t think so. I won’t go nearly so far as ed/kos and say “screw ‘em,” but their ideology is certainly relevant. They are there specifically to oppose the efforts of our troops, it seems. That is unacceptable. Period.
If more information comes out that makes their visit to Mesopotamia seem more noble and less insidious, I will reconsider. But with what info we now have, it seems like they should be treated and viewed little better than our stated enemy.
When I was considerably younger than half my present age, I was a grunt. I’d have gone. Several reasons. Capping bad guys was what grunts do. Taking care of the innocents, ditto.
And I would kick their sorry asses all the way home, and if any of my buddies got killed, I’d smear the fallen hero’s blood on the smirking faces of these assholes.
And I would expend a good deal of effort to make sure the rest of their worthless lives were miserable.
But I’d have gone.
“These peace activists, whether they are honestly committed to peaceful ideals or just suffering from BDS, are likely hampering attempts to make Iraq a better place, as non-violent confrontation will make no headway with head chopping jihadists and more then likely just serves to get in the way of people who really do want to make a positive difference in Iraq (like our troops).”
It is important to note they are not there to stop the violence, they are there specifically to help the resistance defeat the United States. So effectively they’re with the head choppers, not looking for a nonviolent way to oppose them.
*It is important to note they are not there to stop the violence, they are there specifically to help the resistance defeat the United States*
I agree thats likely the case. Personally, I hear the words “peace mission” and generally throw up a little in my mouth. At the same time, I assume there are pacifist organizations working in Iraq to help the people there rather than only oppose our troops.
I guess the point is, we can dislike them and dislike their ideology but it probably crosses the line to hope they get the chop because of that ideology.
B Moe- if you are still visiting this thread, I just wanted to mention that I too am puzzled by that statement.
Hmmm.
*shrug* go to their website and read this nonsense for yourself.
CPT in Iraq
Project Overview
1. “use their bodies to protect critical civilian infra-structure such as water treatment facilities, electrical plants, and hospitals.”
2. “launch the Adopt-a-Detainee Campaign asking churches to advocate on behalf of Iraqi detainees”
3. “support a variety of new and old Iraqi human rights groups which suddenly found themselves with space and freedom to operate”
4. “October – December 2004
Continuing Occupation – a rash of kidnapping foreign aid workers compelled the team to severely curtail its size and visibility. Iraqi partners, while acknowledging the potential danger CPT’s presence posed to them, encouraged the team to remain in Baghdad. “
5. “CPT initiated a long-term presence in Iraq in October 2002, six months before the beginning of the U.S. led invasion in March of 2003. The primary focus of the team for eighteen months following the invasion was documenting and focusing attention on the issue of detainee abuses and basic legal and human rights being denied them.”
6. “CPTers “get in the way” of Israeli soldiers preparing to open fire on peaceful Palestinian protesters.”
These four individuals were in Iraq to work closely with former detainees! Is there any single group of people more likely to contain terrorists than people who were actually picked up in terrorism sweeps or who were actually caught fighting?
Anybody here remember Rachel Corrie?
Hmmm.
@ The_Real_JeffS
1.
Completely wrong. I don’t give a damn about them because anybody who goes to Iraq must know about the dangers of doing so. These 4 *explicitly* knew about the dangers because their group CPT also knew very well what they faced.
Ideology has nothing to do with it. If a conservative Republican went into Iraq to work closely with former detainees with nary a thought for his own security then I’d say he deserves the same thing.
I’m not going to weep for someone who does something truly idiotic.
2.
Kos was vilified for saying “screw’em” to a group of four men who got separated from their convoy and were murdered. The circumstances are absolutely not the same, and frankly your dependence on this strawman shows clearly that you’ve got nothing for an argument.
Want to call me Kos? Who gives a rat’s ass. I know I’m not Kos so what you think means nothing to me.
3.
Since I’m not kidnapping people and murdering them, I’d say there’s a significant gap between me and terrorists.
Your points get even more ridiculous.
4.
No that’s another strawman, which you use the word “effectively” to justify. Nothing I’ve written states that I’m “rooting” for anyone to die. But if they do die then that’s a situation that they brought upon themselves for which I won’t give a damn.
Since you can’t tell the difference between what I write and what you’re trying to say I wrote, there’s a fucking clue for you.
5.
And what exactly is your point? Should I bend down and kiss your ass because you were in Kuwait? And what relevance does your having been in Kuwait have to any of this? You were in Kuwait? Congrat-u-fucking-lations.
I spent a tour in the USMC stuck in the shittiest base in the US Navy. A duty station that sucked-ass so badly that it became a 10 year duty station. That’s right. You had to do 10 fucking years there before you could even dream of a transfer out.
And that is just as irrelevant as your comment.
6.
Well I am blessed.