Daughter of US hostage in Iraq appeals for his life (and rebuts Rush)

me? not so much.

"There is a need to help the Iraqi people, especially at a time when so many organizations are no longer able to be present because of the danger."

Aren't you supposed to exploit situations like this for personal gain and corporate profit? :shrug:

That they had no clue about what they were getting into. And that "now they're getting a dose of reality".

What an asshole. They knew exactly what kind of danger they were getting into.

In fact, leading Iraqi religious and civic leaders take them seriously and actually respect what they're trying to do.

these days - was how great everything is over there - schools open, people working.... At least that's what the email going around is saying.

So how could someone be "asking for trouble" if society is so supposed to be so normalized?

They can't have it both ways.

but seriously, you have an excellent point. Imagine if this had happened to a right-wing talk radio ho... er, a different one, not Rush. But a few were talking up going to Iraq and reporting from there on how great things were, right?

Rush outsmarted himself here.

Because reporters are largely confined to the Green Zone. Why? Because it's far too dangerous to go out and cover stories.

So the "MSM" is mostly regurgitating Pentagon briefings. And the news is still overwhelmingly bad...

The kidnappings, the motive, and the unemotional appeal, it is just smelly to me.

...he may well have learned some embarrassing information about the US "we-do-not-torture" policy.

the Abu Ghraib prison story before he was.

I suspect right wing Negroponte groups behind this kidnapping

but what the hell

Prayer Vigils and Gatherings for Christian Peacemaker Team members in Iraq

http://peace.mennolink.org/vigillist.html


from the petition:

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/freethecpt

from the end:

C.P.T. first came to Iraq in October 2002 to oppose the US invasion, and it has remained in the country throughout the occupation in solidarity with the Iraqi people. The group has been invaluable in alerting the world to many of the horrors facing Iraqis detained in US-run prisons and detention centers. C.P.T. was among the first to document the torture occurring at the Abu Ghraib prison, long before the story broke in the mainstream press. Its members have spent countless hours interviewing Iraqis about abuse and torture suffered at the hands of US forces and have disseminated this information internationally.

Each of the four C.P.T. members being held in Iraq has dedicated his life to resisting the darkness and misery of war and occupation. Convinced that it is not enough to oppose the war from the safety of their homes, they made the difficult decision to go to Iraq, knowing that the climate of mistrust created by foreign occupation meant that they could be mistaken for spies or missionaries. They went there with a simple purpose: to bear witness to injustice and to embody a different kind of relationship between cultures and faiths. Members of C.P.T. willingly undertook the risks of living among Iraqis, in a common neighborhood outside of the infamous Green Zone. They sought no protection from weapons or armed guards, trusting in, and benefiting from, the goodwill of the Iraqi people. Acts of kindness and hospitality from Iraqis were innumerable and ensured the C.P.T. members’ safety and wellbeing. We believe that spirit will prevail in the current situation.

We appeal to those holding these activists to release them unharmed so that they may continue their vital work as witnesses and peacemakers.

Signed,**

# Arundhati Roy, author, The God of Small Things
# Tariq Ali, author, Bush in Babylon
# Denis Halliday, former U.N. Assistant Secretary General and Head of the U.N. Humanitarian Program in Iraq (1997-1998)
# Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan
# Noam Chomsky, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
# Haifa Zangana, Iraqi novelist
# Kamil Mahdi, Iraqi economist and anti-occupation activist. Lecturer, University of Exeter
# Mahmood Mamdani, "Herbert Lehman Professor of Government," Columbia University
# Rashid Khalidi, "Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies," Middle East Institute, Columbia University
# Cindy and Craig Corrie, parents of Rachel Corrie, killed by Israeli military
# Hasan Abu Nimah, Permanent Representative of Jordan at the United Nations (1995-2000)
# Ralph Nader, former independent presidential candidate
# James Abourezk, former US Senator
# Howard Zinn, historian
# Naseer Aruri, Professor (Emeritus) University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
# Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence/Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
# Naomi Klein, author/journalist
# Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
# Rev. Daniel Berrigan, poet
# Jeremy Scahill, independent journalist
# Mazin Qumsiyeh, author, Sharing the Land Of Canaan, board member US Campaign to End the Occupation
# Milan Rai, author, War Plan Iraq: Ten Reasons Against War on Iraq
# Sam Husseini, writer
# Dahr Jamail, independent journalist
# Ali Abunimah & Nigel Parry, Co-founders, Electronic Iraq
# Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice
# Eve Ensler, author
# Jennifer Harbury, Director, Stop Torture Permanently Campaign
# Bishop Thomas J. Gumbleton, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Detroit
# Anthony Arnove, author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal
# Medea Benjamin, Global Exchange
# G. Simon Harak, SJ, War Resisters League
# David Hartsough, Co-Founder and Capacity Building Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce and Executive Director of Peaceworkers. Nonviolent Peace Force
# Blase Bonpane, Office of the Americas
# Carol Bragg, Coordinator, Rhode Island Peace Mission
# Rev. Richard Deats, former Executive Secretary and Fellowship Editor, Fellowship of Reconciliation
# Omar Diop, Président de la Coalition Sénégalaise des Défenseurs des Droits humains
# Jim Forest, Secretary, The Orthodox Peace Fellowship
# Thomas C. Cornell, The Catholic Worker
# David Grant, Nonviolent Peaceforce
# Ted Lewis, Global Exchange
# Charles Jenks, Chair of Advisory Board, Traprock Peace Center
# Jeff Leys, Voices for Creative Nonviolence
# Andréa Schmidt, independent journalist
# Michael Albert, ZNet
# Richard McDowell, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
# Dave McReynolds, former Chair, War Resisters International
# Peter Lems, Program Associate for Iraq, American Friends Service Committee
# Kevin Zeese, Director, Democracy Rising
# Sunny Miller, Director, Traprock Peace Center
# Dave Robinson, Director, Pax Christi USA
# Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, National Coordinator, Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq
# David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street, Board Member Progressive Democrats of America, Washington Director Democrats.com
# Mary Trotochaud, Senior Fellow for Iraq Policy, Friends Committee on National Legislation
# Michael Birmingham, activist
# Barbara Wien, Co-Director, Peace Brigades International/USA
# Bishop Gabino Zavala, President, Pax Christi USA

**Organizations and institutions are listed for identification purposes only

Contact: freethecpt(at)gmail.com
This update was added to the petition statement on December 7th, 2005 at 2:01 am

The number of signators to this petition has now passed 20,000. We would like to highilight a number of those people. Among those that have called for the release of the 4 CPT members:

Michael Moore, Director, Fahrenheit 9/11 and
Hans Von Sponeck, Former Head of the United Nations in Iraq

Clearbrook, VA? Thats 10 minutes away from my house. Poor guy...We're pulling for you brother.

My gut tells me that the terrorists received a "tip" that he was a spy because we want those pesky peace activists out of the way.

If we can't bomb Al Jazeera, we'll use "information warfare" to get the peace activists killed.

Day after day around supper time a mother and her three children walk by our living room window to the park across the street. The western sun illuminates her face. She looks tired, as do so many, many people here in Iraq.
She looks a bit fearful too. Will today be the day the insurgents set off a car bomb near the park? Will today be the day the young men of the Iraqi National Guard, riding like cowboys in the back of their pickup trucks, get trigger happy and start shooting with her children in the line of fire.
Underneath the fatigue and fear I sense hope and courage in her heart. It reflects on her children as the setting sun reflects on the nearby Tigris River. She lives in the present moment – aware of the dangers and uncertainties, yet not giving in to despair. She gives me courage to face the overwhelming difficulties of life in this broken land.

– CPTer Tom Fox

http://cpt.org/archives/signs/2005/fall05.php#leave

I know a couple of CPT members and I'll be at a vigil this evening at our local Mennonite church. A co-director of CPT and her husband were married here last year. I have the utmost respect and admiration for them all and the work they do. Please read up on CPT and all they do and help to support them.

(I've been suspicious of this kidnapping all along, deja-vu Negroponte, Bolton etc. and South America)

And don't forget they were gathering information on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. A little embarrassing for the administration.

is it because he is a hypocritical chicken hawk or maybe the boil on his ass hurts too much just like it did during Vietnam.