Susan Hallums, ex-wife of former hostage in Iraq Roy Hallums, left this comment on my post here:

I was deeply saddened to hear that more hostages were taken. These men were good Christian men trying to help promote peace in Iraq. I will pray for their safe release and for their families. There is such devastation to the families , I know this horror... I pray for them , I wish I could help in some way.

I replied to Ms. Hallums via email, here is what I wrote:

Please do not take any criticism I have for the CPT organization as a whole to mean that I have no empathy for the plight of these people.

I do not believe for one minute, no matter what brought them to Iraq, that anyone should be subjected to what Mr. Hallums went through.

I've watched what happened to Nick Berg and the others, I know full well what these people are capable of, and I wish that on no human being.

I still pray for Mr. Hallums', and your, good health, although I know you may never fully recover from his ordeal.

Ms. Hallums was kind enough to reply, however, since I don't have permission, and it's irrelevant to this post anyway, I won't publish it.

Look, kids, I spent a healthy chunk of my dwindling free time yesterday perusing the CPT website, and I wholeheartedly disagreed with just about, well, no, absolutely everything they do. From the Adopt a Detainee campaign to opposing any kind of enforcement of our national sovereignty on the border.

But I still won't wash my hands of these hostages. Here's another nugget I found this evening:

The organization is supported by several Protestant denominations, including the Mennonite Church, that believe Christianity forbids all war-making and violence. It has sent activists into war zones, including Bosnia and Haiti, since the late 1980s. It has about 160 members around the world and about a dozen in Iraq.

Folks, based upon their website, I was under the impression that this group was far larger than it really is. Had I known this, I wouldn't have spent so much time on that website. The influence they wield is precisely nil. Jane Novak, one woman with a blog, has had more global impact in a year than these people have in 20.

So what is the lesson here? First off, as Rusty said in his reply to Ms. Hallums' comment, and I paraphrase, "I believe they're misguided, but they're victims nonetheless." Second, I draw from my own experience. I've written posts about local stories on my home blog about murdered children, and twice the mothers of those children, like Susan Hallums, commented on my post. And like Susan Hallums, I've had a nice exchange of email.

These hostages, whose politics and ideology I may wholeheartedly disagree with, are still human beings. They have, from what I know right now, committed no evil acts that have placed them in the situation they're in. Granted, running around in Iraq as a member of the Christian Peacemakers may not be the smartest thing to do in this day and age, but it's surely not evil.

There's that, and there's what I've been alluding to this whole time. These people have families and friends. They more than likely have family and friends who, like me, totally disagree with the mission they undertook, or the views they hold. But, be that as it may, the loved ones of these people probably don't care one whit about those political views right now. They surely don't believe that these people deserve to be in the place they are.

And neither do I. Granted, this all may turn out to be one big stunt, but at this point, I could care less. If it is, all I'm out is the fact that maybe I cared a little too much. I can live with that.

What I couldn't live with is if I were making statements like the ones I've read, on this blog and others. Glib, making flip comments, only to see these people get the Nick Berg treatment. If it were my brother (quite a moonbat in his own right, I must say) over there, and I stumbled upon some of what I've read both here and elsewhere, I would be disgusted.

If you still can't find empathy for these four based on their ideology, that's fine, I can't control what you think or feel. But at least pause for a moment and consider their families.

F.E.T.E

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The first female Chancellor in German history has come out shooting. In a 180 degree turnaround from her predecessor, the first words out of Angela Merkel's mouth to the newly constituted parliament:

"This government, this parliament will not let itself be blackmailed," Merkel said. "It (terrorism) is directed at everything that is important to us, at the core of our civilization. It is directed against our entire value system."

Can some one please tell me how any one in the MSM--in even the most conservative of publications--can call a group or an individual threatenting to murder a hostage a 'militant'?

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The 'news' site uruknet blames the CIA:

One look at the CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) in Iraq website and it becomes obvious who abducted Kember and his associates and why....No doubt all of this Christian activity sincerely upsets the Pentagon and the Bushcons.

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Now this is fascinating. From the CPT History/Mission page:

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.

This organization went into Iraq while Saddam Hussein was still in power.

Yet, I still hope for the hostages safe release.

UPDATE: Geez, 18 comments on this post and no one noticed that I spelled "history" as "hisory." With friends like you, who needs enemas?

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The 'Christian Peacemaker Teams' organization has confirmed the identities of four Westerners kidnapped in Iraq after The Jawa Report first revealed their names earlier today. In addition, the group blamed the U.S. and U.K. governments for the terrorist abductions of their team members. Like many Left wing 'peace' activists, the group decided to condemn the unintended consequences of the U.S. invasion while overlooking the very intentional acts of violence against civilians by terrorists.

Sources tell The Jawa Report that the "The Swords of Righteousness Brigade" may be an offshoot of The Islamic Army in Iraq. The announcement and video were posted on that group's website earlier today. The Islamic Army in Iraq has murdered foreign hostages in the past, including Italian Red Cross worker Enzo Baldoni, and has worked with Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq in the past. The group routinely murders those suspected of being 'collaborators', 'apostates', and 'spies'.

This is bad news for the hostages if confirmed. If the mesage from the Christian Peacemaker Teams is meant to garner sympathy from the Salafist terror organization, then they are barking up the wrong tree. The only hope for the four Westerners is if the U.S., British, or Iraqi armies find them and liberate them--as they did former hostage Roy Hallums. Ironic, since these are the very people who are risking their lives yet who are blamed by the pacifist organization for the plight of their representatives.

Despite the misguided efforts of the pacifist organization, these four activists are victims of Islamist aggression. We condemn the hostage takers and pray for the immediate release. And, unlike the 'Christian Peacemaker Teams', we hope that the terrorists die at the hands of an angry Marine.

Their press release is below: more...

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The Christian Peacemaker Teams organization to which the 4 hostages belong just recently suspended their Adopt-a-Detainee program.

You read that right. Adopt-a-Detainee:

After a year and a half of coordinated advocacy for Iraqis detained by U.S. and other occupying forces, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) is ending its Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign. CPT's Iraq project will, however, continue to monitor the situation of Iraqis captured by the Multinational Force in Iraq (MNF) and by the new Iraqi Forces.

The Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign, beginning in March 2004, matched individual detainees with congregations, mosques, synagogues, and peace groups in North America and around the world. These groups wrote letters to U.S., Iraqi and other relevant officials on the detainees' behalf. The campaign grew out of CPT's investigation of and reporting on abuses within the U.S.-run detention system in Iraq during the fall of 2003. The Adopt-a-Detainee Letter-Writing Campaign included a total of twenty-seven detainees, nine of whom U.S. officials released during the campaign, ten of whom were still detained at last word, and seven of whom U.S. officials never confirmed as detained (i.e., the "disappeared.")

They're still running the Campaign For Secure Dwellings though:

Since 1995 the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron has provided a violence-reduction presence with street patrols, responding when we hear word of trouble, and staying with people in tense times and places. The team also supports Israeli and Palestinian peacemakers in their work. It is clear to us that there can be no security for Israelis or Palestinians as long as the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip continues.

Hm, guess no one bothered to tell them about the Gaza withdrawal earlier this year.

I still hope the hostages are released unharmed.

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**Jawa Report Exclusive**

***The Jawa Report releases names of four Western hostages.***

A hostage video has been released of the four Western peace activists taken hostage in Iraq. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video. Images from the video and links to video posted below. The video shows American Thomas Fox of Clear Brook Virginia, Canadian Harmeet Singh Sooden, who resides in Auckland, New Zealand, British citizen Norman Kember, and some one who appears to identify himself as James Loney(spelling confirmed) of Canada.

Previously only Norman Kember had been identified. The Christian Peacemaker Teams organization has confirmed to The Jawa Report in an e-mail that the four hostages were working for that group.

The copy of the video I have makes no ransom demands, although a voice can be heard directing the hostages in the background. UPDATE: Ian at the Political Teen is hosting a segment of the video here.

Here is a transcript of the video:

My name is Norman Kember. I am 74. I am a member of the Christian Peacemaking team in Iraq.

My name is Harmeet Sooden. I am 32 and I am working..I'm a volunteer for the CPT in Iraq.

My name is James Loney. I am 41 years old. I am from Canada and I am part of the Christian Peacemaker team in Iraq.

My name is Tom Fox and I am 54 years old. I am from the United States and I am a member of the Christian Peacmakers team in Iraq.

Here is a rough translation of the statement accompanying the video--again, thanks to Doubletap:

foreign arrest of four spy

Praise be to God god of the scientists and the prayer and the faithful peace on the prophet, and on his family and accompanied him ['ajme'yn]

As for after. Losing managed your brothers in secrecy of swords the truth from arrest of four spy is foreign forces of the occupation under cover do for what Christian team the peace rises in, [wllh] the praising god of the scientists.

Secrecy swords of the truth

The original announcement in Arabic can be downloaded here if some one would like to offer a better translation.

UPDATE: Flip from Suitably Flip has a different machine translation here which is a little clearer.

UPDATE II: Shawn of Bareknucklepolitics points us to these dispatches from Iraq written by hostage Thomas Fox who wonders if Americans are inheritly racists and have colonialist attitudes. We pity people like Tom who have such low regard for the men who will now risk their lives to save his.

UPDATE: Jawa Report revelations force CPT to confirm identities of hostages.

We can confirm the identities of those who are being held as follows:

Tom Fox, age 54, is from Clearbrook, Virginia and is a dedicated father of two children. For the past two years, Mr. Fox has worked with CPT in partnership with Iraqi human rights organizations to promote peace. Mr. Fox has been faithful in the observance of Quaker practice for 22 years. While in Iraq, he sought a more complete understanding of Islamic cultural richness. He is committed to telling the truth to U.S. citizens about the horrors of war and its effects on ordinary Iraqi civilians and families as a result of U.S. policies and practices.

Mr. Fox is an accomplished musician. He plays the bass clarinet and the recorder and he loves to cook. He has also worked as a professional grocer. Mr. Fox devotes much of his time to working with children. He has served as an adult leader of youth programs and worked at a Quaker camp for youth. He has facilitated young people's participation in opposing war and violence. Mr. Fox is a quiet and peaceful man, respectful of everyone, who believes that "there is that of God in every person" which is why work for peace is so important to him.

Norman Kember, age 74, is from London, England.He and his wife of 45 years have two married daughters and a 3-year old grandson. He has been a pacifist all his life beginning with his work in a hospital instead of National Service at age 18. Before his retirement he was a professor teaching medical students at St Bartholemew's Hospital in London. He is well-known as a peace activist, and has been involved in several peace groups. For the past 10 years he has volunteered with a local program providing free food to the homeless. He likes walking, birdwatching, and writing humorous songs and sketches. In his younger days he enjoyed mountaineering.

James Loney, 41, is a community worker from Toronto, Canada. He has been a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams since August 2000, and is currently the Program Coordinator for CPT Canada. On previous visits to Iraq, his work focused on taking testimonies from families of detainees for CPT's report on detainee abuse, and making recommendations for securing basic legal rights. James was leading the November 2005 delegation in Iraq when he went missing.

James is a peace activist, writer, trained mediator, and works actively with two Toronto community conflict resolution services. He has spent many years working to provide housing and support for homeless people.

In a personal statement from James to CPT, he writes: "I believe that our actions as a people of peace must be an expression of hope for everyone. My hope in practising non-violence is that I can be a conduit for the transformative power of God's love acting upon me as much as I hope it will act upon others around me."

Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 is a Canadian electrical engineer. He is studying for a masters degree in English literature in Auckland University in New Zealand to prepare for a teaching career. He enjoys art, is active in squash and worked part time as a local squash coach. His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe. He works tirelessly in his spare time to educate and help others.

I was deeply saddened to hear that more hostages were taken. These men were good Christian men trying to help promote peace in Iraq. I will pray for their safe release and for their families. There is such devastation to the families , I know this horror... I pray for them , I wish I could help in some way.

-Susan Hallums

Developing.....

Images below. more...

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The Jawa Report has learned that the name of the German woman shown in a hostage video is Susanne Osthoff. Osthoff is an archaeologist working in Iraq and was abducted with her driver last Friday. Osthoff was presumably working on a dig at the ruins of Isin when she was abducted.

UPDATE: Chad at In the Bullpen e-mails me about a NY Times report that Osthoff had been targetted by Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq over the summer. If she has been abducted by al Qaeda then her only hope lies in a quick rescue and your prayers.

After news of Ms. Osthoff's kidnapping became known here, a German newspaper, the Neue Osnabrücker Zeiting, reported that Ms. Osthoff had been targeted by extremist groups close to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi during the summer, when she was living in Mosul in northern Iraq. At the time, the newspaper said, Ms. Osthoff was escorted by American soldiers to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Since then, Ms. Osthoff has been negotiating both with the German Embassy in Baghdad and the local Kurdish-dominated government in the northern town of Arbil to build a German cultural center there, the newspaper said.

More information about Susan Osthoff below and in the Susan Osthoff archives. more...

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UPDATE: The Jawa Report has learned that the name of the woman is Susanne Osthoff. More on Osthoff here.

A German woman has been taken hostage in Iraq. The image right shows the woman and her driver as they appeared in a hostage video. The woman's name has not been released. We will publish her name and the name of her driver as soon as they are known.

According to ADNKI the woman was an archeologist and was abducted with her driver near Ninevah.

Further:

The kidnappers sent a video to the broadcaster's offices in Baghdad in which they showed the hostages and threatened to kill the woman if the German government does not suspend every form of cooperation with the Iraqi government.

The video shows a woman and a man blindfolded and on their knees. Nearby are three armed men with their faces covered. The woman has a chain around her neck, with her passport attached to it.

The German Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the archaeologist and her driver have been missing since Friday. "We are doing everything possible to guarantee the safety of the woman," a spokesman said. "We are in contact with all the offices of the government of Iraq to confirm what has happened."

Hat tip to Dread Pundit Bluto who has more.

Developing........

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Background on the hostage taking here.

What do Giuliana Sgrena and abducted 'humanitarian' worker Norman Kember (pictured right at a Hiroshima memorial) have in common?

Both went to Iraq to promote "peace".

Both decided to work for "peace" by documenting allegations of prisoner abuse and mass-murder by American forces in Fallujah.

Both thought it would be a good idea to meet with 'victims' of America and that their sympathies with the 'resistance' would make them immune.

Both ended up being taken hostage by the 'resistance'.

Our deepest sympathies are with Norman Kember and the American and two Canadians taken hostage with him. But, wasn't it a little foolish to believe your own rhetoric? The U.S. military is in Iraq to help the Iraqis. If civilians are killed or innocents detained by the U.S., these are regretful mistakes. Errors made in the fog of war.

But when the so-called insurgents kill civilians and take hostages--only to murder them later by proclaiming them guilty of violating Islamic law--they do this on purpose.

It is the policy of the United States of America and Great Britain to avoid civilian casualties when possible. It is the policy of al Qaeda and other mujahidin forces in Iraq to kill civilians, on purpose, when such civilians are deemed too eager to help rebuild that country.

For the peace activists of the Left, there is no distinction between an American soldier and an al Qaeda in Iraq suicide-bomber.

That distinction should be clear now to Norman Kember and the other victims of jihadi fanaticism in Iraq.

We pray for their safe return.

Norman Kember archives here.

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Interesting quote of British Foreign Minister Jack Straw:

“We are working on the basis that it is indeed a kidnapping. But we have no further confirmation,” he said.

I never have, and never will be a conspiracy theorist, but this is interesting as well:

Pat Kember said that her husband was representing a number of different organisations when he was taken. Yesterday she was seen leaving the family home in North London escorted by police.

I figure there's a 99.9% chance that this is SOP.

But after reading Rusty and Bluto, I have to admit that something smells Vichy around here.

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UPDATE 11/29 A.M.: Christian Peacemakers has confirmed to The Jawa Report that the hostages were indeed taken from their organization. However, at this time, Christian Peacemakers has declined to release the names of the one American and two Canadian hostages.

Related: German woman taken hostage in Iraq, hostage video released.

Developing.........

UPDATED: Scroll down for updates. "Humanitarian" group named in MSM actually a peace activist group there to monitor U.S. and Iraqi 'abuses'. This story is becoming more and more like the Giuliana Sgrena drama as facts are slowly uncovered.

The so-called aid workers were actually part of a peace organization which focuses on alleged U.S. abuses. Which is the one political party that this 'peace' organization decides to meet in Baghdad? The Iraqi Communist Party.

Scroll down for more specifics and updates
-----------------------------

An American was among the Westerners kidnapped in Iraq over the weekend as reported earlier here and here. The U.S. State Department continues its insane policy of not releasing the name of the kidnapped victim. We will report his name and the name of the two Canadians as soon as we get word.

More information about Norman Kember is below.

Tribune-Democrat:

An American citizen is missing in Iraq, the U.S. Embassy said Monday, apparently one of four humanitarian workers reported kidnapped a day earlier.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Elizabeth Colton said only that an American had been reported missing. The person's name was not immediately released. Dan McTeague, parliamentary secretary for Canadians abroad, also refused identify the Canadians, their organization or the location where they were kidnapped to protect their safety.

Norman Kember was an officer in the Baptist Peace Fellowship which proclaims:

The FELLOWSHIP was founded as a fellowship of Baptist ministers with pacifist convictions; later it was expanded to include all Baptist Pacifists, and in 1940 became affiliated to the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR).

WE AIM to provide a fellowship for Baptists who feel constrained by their Christian faith to renounce war and to stir the minds and consciences of our fellow Baptists so that they may come to see that military force cannot be reconciled with the teaching of Jesus Christ and His acceptance of the Cross; to work at all times for reconciliation, justice and the things that make for peace in national, community, church and personal life.

WE BELIEVE that we will be led to witness in ways appropriate to the conditions in which we find ourselves. Like the early Christians we endeavour to talk to those whom we meet about the good news of the gospel of the Prince of Peace.

We must prepare to die by the thousands

As always, The Jawa Report will be following this hostage story carefully. Please e-mail tips to mypetjawa-at-gmail-dot-com.

UPDATE: Here is a picture of Norman Kember at a Hiroshima vigil. He is the on the right.

In response to Rhonda's comments that Kember would never try and evangelize a Muslim, I offer this, penned by Norman Kember himself:

Peace people may spend rather a lot of time talking to the 'converted'. We work and pray for new conversions!

My reading of Kember's public statements is that he is a committed Christian pacifist in the Mennonite. Jehovah's Witness or Quaker sense. As such he is a perfect example of Christian fundamentalism vs. Islamic fundamentalism. Christian fundamentalists take Jesus' 'turn the other cheek' and Paul's exhortation to Roman soldiers to 'do no violence' very seriously and, indeed, are willing to die for their beliefs but never kill for them (in the Catholic tradition, Augustine is a good example).

Muslim fundamentalists, on the other hand, follow the example and teachings of Muhammed perfectly when they kill.

Hence 'religious fundamentalism' is not really that big of a problem when the religion is fundamentally pacifist. The Dali Lama is another good example of a person taking his religion seriously, yet posing no threat of violence.

UPDATE II: WRAL:

The four were believed to be affiliated with Christian Peacemakers, one of the few Western humanitarian organizations still operating in Iraq. The organization's Web site states that among other things, the group seeks to expose and document abuses of Iraqis by U.S. and coalition forces.

Kenberer and the other hostages would have been part of this group, scheduled to be in Iraq from Nov. 17th to Dec. 1st:

As Iraq continues to suffer under unstable and difficult conditions, delegates will meet with representatives of nongovernmental organizations, fledgling Iraqi civil society groups, the US military, and others, to assess the current situation. They will may visit hospitals, schools, mosques, and churches, and will talk with Iraqis whose loved ones have been detained by US forces or under the previous regime. Based primarily in Baghdad, the delegation may travel to outlying areas.

COST: US $3000 US, which includes round-trip airfare.

Here is the scenario as it might have happened. A group of peace activists (dubbed 'aid workers' by MSM) go to Iraq trying to prove that the U.S. are the bad guys in Iraq. They then go and talk with the 'resistance' who they believe are the good guys. They are shocked when some terrorists show up at meeting with 'resistance' and kidnap them.

Possibly outcome? a) Sgrena scenario--terrorists release infidels after they have been paid off and realize hostages are really allies b) Enzo Baldoni scenario--terrorists don't care that hostages there to help, behead the infidels c) rescued by U.S. forces

Another Update: Ekklesia:

Kidnappee Professor Norman Kember, aged 74, is a long-time advocate of nonviolence. He has been involved both in the Baptist Peace Fellowship and in Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR), an international network of religious pacifists.

An opponent of war and occupation in Iraq, Professor Kember had decided to join a two-week visit to the insurgency-torn country.

He had been telling friends, and wrote in a recent FoR newsletter, that he could not remain a spectator any longer. He understood the risks involved, he said.

The team he was working in was established by Mennonites and other historic peace churches in North America. It works to build trust and cooperation among conflicting groups, and works through the invitation and agency of local peace, social justice and human rights workers.

Local security forces and a multinational hostage team are currently searching for all four humanitarian workers.

Speaking on Channel 4 News (UK) this evening, Bruce Kent – a high profile peace campaigner, former Catholic priest, and close friend of Norman Kember – said that he was a strong and resourceful person.

It is uncertain whether the professor has been captured by a group with a political motive, or by one of the hundreds of criminal gangs seeking to make money out of hostage taking in a lawless environment.

Asked whether it was foolish to venture into Iraq under such volatile conditions, Mr Kent said that Professor KemberÂ’s Christian faith and peacemaking convictions were such that he was prepared to take risks which other might regard as unwise.

A spokesperson for the Baptist Peace fellowship said that he was a man who lived out his beliefs with courage and compassion.

Yet Another Update: This time from the Independent:

His group, who were investigating human rights abuses, had reportedly been travelling with "minimal security" when they were seized in the west of the city after dark on Saturday.

The men were in the final days of a two-week fact-finding trip with a Canada-based humanitarian organisation, Christian Peacemaker Teams (PCT). The group, which was working with Iraqi groups and was not involved in missionary work, had been due to return on Friday.

The Rev Alan Betteridge, president of the UK Baptist Peace Fellowship, who has known Mr Kember for more than 40 years, said: "Norman is a very committed worker for non-violence and peacemaking. He is a very gentle man, quiet, with a good sense of humour.

"He does not try to force his views on people - a listener rather than a talker and very committed to what he believes. I hope he has the opportunity to tell his captors about his work."

CPT, a pacifist group based in Toronto which cites the removal of coalition forces from Iraq as one of its aims, declined to comment on the abductions.

Virtually all Iraqi's we talked to would like for US troops to leave. now. Most that we talked with said that they know immediate with drawl is impractical in that they believe a civil war will result if the troops leave now. Few had a real passion about the US troops leaving right now [italics mine].

Mr Kember was part of a delegation of around eight people who had gone to Iraq to meet local human rights campaigners and assist with the setting up of a Muslim peacemakers' organisation. The organisation had sent four previous civilian delegations to Iraq.

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2 Canadians, 1 American, and 1 Brit taken hostage:

Nov 27, 2005 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Four Western aid workers, two believed to be from Canada, one from Britain and one from the United States, have been kidnapped in Iraq, the organization they were working for said on Sunday.

The only hostage identified positively is the Briton:

It is understood Professor Norman Kember was snatched in Baghdad along with two Canadians and an American. The Foreign Office is investigating.

Professor Kember, from north-west London, was said to be representing a number of humanitarian aid groups.

His wife Pat, at home in Pinner, said: "People are being very, very good to me and I'm being supported."

I'm sure we'll update this as the others are named. In any case, we wish their families the very best and pray for their safe return.

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The Jawa Report takes pride in bringing to the forefront the plight of hostages in Iraq.

Not all of our citizens are being held hostage in Iraq.

The next time you see a Che t-shirt, think of Walter van der Veer.

A Google search reveals Cuba government propaganda, Linda's post, and not much else.

From the Cuban site:

Havana, November 27(RHC)-- A court in Havana sentenced
late Wednesday US citizen Walter Van Der Veer to 15 years
in prison, on charges of promoting an armed action
against Cuba. Havana's district attorney's office had
requested 20 years. The text of the sentence says that
Van Der Veer is a declared enemy of Cuba's socialist state
who attempted to promote subversive armed actions in the
westerly Pinar Del Rio Province. For this purpose,
continues the text, Van Der Veer clandestinely introduced
military uniforms and other equipment, and was also
planning to launch attacks against tourists in Cuba.

Arrested in August of last year, Cuban authorities also
discovered in his possession anti-Cuba propaganda and ink
pads to print out pamphlets signed by the Cuban
Liberation Front, a Cuban-American terrorist organization
based in Miami. According to his defense attorney, Van
Der Veer admitted to having spread anti-Castro propaganda
in Havana and that he belonged to 2 Cuban exile
organizations in Miami that promote the violent overthrow
of the Cuban government. And according to testimony by a
Cuban accomplice, Van Der Veer expressed interest in
obtaining weapons on the island.

May God bless Walter van der Veer and his family.

Of course, Walter just has to be the violent fellow portrayed by Castro, because, as we all know, American citizens are just flocking to Cuba to try and procure arms to overthrow that government.

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Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq has announced that it will murder two Moroccan embassy workers it kidnapped on October 20th. The two have been identified as a driver, Abderrahim Boualam, and a diplomatic employee, Abdelkrim el-Mouhafidi.

As in past cases where Islamist groups announce that hostages will be murdered, the terrorist justify it on grounds that the hostages are criminals who have violated Islamic law. Before murdering them, a 'trial' is held. AKI:

Following the interrogation of our prisoners, the employees of the Moroccan embassy, we have decided to send their case to the Sharia Committee where they will be able to make a judgement on these kinds of people

The group said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web forum that its "Islamic court" had judged the two men as "apostates" who were waging a "war on Islam."

"Based on this, the court decided to issue God's verdict upon the apostates and sentenced them to death," it said...

"It has become clear to these governments that they are now in the front line against the mujahedeen in the land of Mesopotamia and that their envoys -- from ambassadors on down -- have become legitimate targets for (the mujahideen's) swords," the new al-Qaida statement said.

The two Moroccans "compounded their disbelief in God and their war on Islam by supporting the government of the Shiite apostates in Baghdad," it said. "May they be a new lesson ... to those who might follow them, those who dare challenge the mujahideen and set foot in the proud land of Mesopotamia."

We will post images and video as soon as they become available.

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