, is also a blogger.
Further, Fox seems to believe a Muslim cleric's version of the Fallujah narrative over those of the Marines and soldiers that liberated that city. Perhaps Fox was unaware that the cleric was possibly a member of the Shura council which ran Fallujah and which meted out death sentences to prostitutes, collaborated and gave refuge to al Qaeda linked terrorists (possibly some of the same terrorists holding Fox hostage now), and which saw even the possession of Western media a sign of apostasy?
It is tragic irony that those now holding Fox hostage are those that he found difficult to criticize, and that the U.S. Marines and soldiers which he found so easy to fault are his best bet on surviving his ordeal alive.
His entries are a mix of personal reflection and first-hand reporting from Iraq. His blog also reveals that Fox was a truly committed pacifist, willing to die rather than do violence to others. There is much to be admired in a man willing to die for his beliefs.
However, it remains unclear why it is that Western pacifists seem so eager to take on the U.S. and Israel and so willing to overlook the violence and aggression of Jihadis and Palestinians? If all violence is equally bad, then why the focus on Western violence and not on those who are the enemy of the West?
Unless of course the pacifist really doesn't believe his tactics would work in totalitarian states or among violent religious fanatics? Which, I think, is quite revealing.
Regardless of his naivite and poor judgement, we pray for his and the other hostages release and that those responsible will meet a swift and deadly justice. Fox is an innocent and a victim, and those who are holding him captive are guilty and aggressors. At The Jawa Report, we will not equivocate between the two and hold that the value of the life of an innocent is greater than the value of the life of those guilty of hostage taking.
1
I really don't have the words to describe the irony of this situation; an enemy propagandist under the knife of those he supports against his countrymen. It really is hard to have sympathy for such a traitor, "pacifist" or not, because all he was doing was helping the enemy. Also, the fact that he is another of these wide-eyed zealots strengthens my argument that religion is often a form of mental disorder.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 01, 2005 04:53 PM (0yYS2)
2
I would be very surprised if anything happens to the hostages who 'work' for CPT. Known terrorist groups in "Palestine" such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have called for the CPT team to be released.
I believe that the terrorists will keep the hostages for a few days, and then in a so-called gesture of good will release them. The terrorists will probably release the hostages to someone who can gain political capital.
I am not sure what will happen to the German woman who was taken hostage, but I fear for her life moreso than for the CPT team. I hope they all come home safe, but with a better understanding of what we are dealing with.
Posted by: jesusland joe at December 01, 2005 05:09 PM (rUyw4)
3
I find it hard to feel sympathy for "pacifists" who not only will not defend their own civilization, but who will work actively to thwart it. If it were not for "warmongers" like Charles Martel, these twits wouldn't even be Christians, as Islam would have overrun the West centuries ago.
Posted by: Scott Free at December 01, 2005 05:34 PM (64hjG)
4
Whatever happens happens - it was his (their) choice.
Actually there have been relatively few cases like this - though a rash at present. There is a reason for this.
Normally under ideal conditions the libs/left, similar groups and the media would be all over Iraq looking to meet insurgents/jihadists to embrace, glorify and get their "point of view" (to mix with their own anti-American baggage).
They haven't done that here (few cases including recent not withstanding) for a simple reason. The insurgents/jihadists scare the living shit out of them. Even the "media" stays in their secure location behind private guards and uses panoramic background shots to give the illusion they are "outside". The current hostages probably didn't get the memo.
The hostages are in serious trouble. The insurgents/jihadists are not (repeat NOT) playing to the media or the lib/left West - to them they are all Western and they don't give a damn. They are playing to the Arab and Muslim street which lives by a whole different set of rules and cultural values.
Note - you will not see wanabe Jane Fonda types hangin' out with jidhadists smiling and swapping revolutionary ideas - because they are smart enough to realise they would be deadmeat to these sick bastards.
Maybe we should open up a discussion on another side motivation of the lib/left anti-war groupings - fear.
yes - fear! (Nobody's talking about it).
I firmly believe that segments of the opposition are afraid of these people, want to run away and hope that they would then leave them alone.
I see this fear throughout the WEST and I believe OBL, the jihadists and all the others can see and smell it too. The jihadists aren't interested in PR - they're interested in fear and terror and see it working.
Posted by: hondo at December 01, 2005 06:23 PM (Jvmry)
Posted by: Markos "fuck em" Zuniga at December 01, 2005 06:27 PM (8e/V4)
6
Yeah i also think they have a better chance of survival if they have been known to be anti american and anti occupation in the past. I'm with rusty on this, don't support the actions of these pacificst, but hope and pray that they make it out alive and hopefully leave the country asap a lot wiser and stop creating work for the soldiers.
Posted by: MathewK at December 01, 2005 06:31 PM (pVHqF)
7
Again, it's important to clarify that CPT is by no means supportive of the Iraqi insurgency. As a Google search of their archives will make clear, they have been openly critical of the violence perpetrated on both sides of this conflict.
Admittedly, both the press and the blogosphere have been more eager to report their criticisms of the US - conservatives find it convenient to pigeonhole CPT as Anti-American 'leftards' and 'moonbats' while the liberal press has, well, often gone down the route of being 'leftards' and 'moonbats' themselves. But CPT has been very clear about opposing violence of all sorts and has taken the 'side' of the innocent Iraqi civilians who find themselves targeted on all sides and generally caught in the middle of this whole mess.
While Rusty points out CPT's trust in a particular Muslim cleric in Fallujah, all accusations he makes against that cleric are entirely conjecture. Are there radical clerics in Fallujah and the West Bank who espouse violence and vitriol as a means to their ends? Absolutely. Are there moderate clerics in Fallujah and the West Bank who favor peace, compromise, and thriving democracies? Absolutely. I find it highly unlikely that a group like CPT would have aligned themselves with one of the former.
As long as you choose to tar and feather all Muslims, pacifists, and those on the left with the same brush, your only available solution is to kill them all. Amusingly enough, CPT is founded and supported primarily by the historic peace churches: Mennonites, Quakers, Amish, and the like. On the whole, these are pretty conservative groups whose voting patterns generally trend toward the right. On many issues, they probably hold very similar opinions to your own. The one place where they veer off the predictable path is the issue of violence and the use of force.
In other words, these aren't your normal leftists. In fact, they may not even be leftists at all.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it for a while...
Posted by: Rob at December 01, 2005 06:34 PM (vPEvo)
8
Respectfully, I take issue with this statement: "There is much to be admired in a man willing to die for his beliefs." (curse the quirk of this website that forces me to retype this passage, instead of merely copying and pasting!)
I think that the quality of the beliefs must come into consideration. I find nothing admirable in Mohammed Atta or his accomplices. I find nothing admirable in the suicide bomber who attacks a group of children getting candy from American soldiers. In fact, I revile the memory of these murderous creatures.
Granted, Fox is not on a par with these troglodytes, but his beliefs are so naive and ill-founded that I can find nothing to admire there, either. And I revile him for putting more people at risk for indulging his juvenile fantasies.
Posted by: The Dread Pundit Bluto at December 01, 2005 06:43 PM (RHG+K)
9
Imagine the uproar if he had been detained or kept out of Fallujah by the US for his safety.
Surely the Army will be blamed for not providing enough security.
Posted by: Fred Fry at December 01, 2005 06:48 PM (Jz6jq)
Posted by: The Dread Pundit Bluto at December 01, 2005 06:48 PM (RHG+K)
11
I think Rob has a point there about those churches. They are all very socially conservative. I can't see any of them wanting to be called "liberal".I don't think any of those churches deserve to be called traitors or anti-American. Our country is the best partly because of our tolerance. If their religion calls for pacifism it doesn't bother me.
Posted by: john ryan at December 01, 2005 07:00 PM (ads7K)
12
You know what the real irony here is. Right now, and even before the war, Christians were being murdered and driven out of their homes in Iraq. Thousands were forced to flee to other countries, but what was CPT doing about this? Nothing that I can see, but maybe Rob can enlighten me about this, and I don't mean this as criticism per se.
In Indonesia, as we speak, Christians are under attack as we sit here. Little girls getting their heads chopped off by these Islamist scum, Christian women being thrown into jail for accidently exposing Muslim children to Christian symbols while at a birthday party, and thousands more beat and burned out of their homes. It seems to me that CPT could be of more use in Indonesia. Or perhaps Thailand and Malaysia, where Buddists are under constant attack by the Islamists, with Buddist monks having their heads chopped off to being burned alive and shot. Where is CPT? Perhaps they are there.
For that matter, where is the US? The barbarity now being unleashed on the World by the Islamists is nothing new and has been done before. Anyone familiar with history should know this, and we had better do something drastic pretty quick. Or we ain't seen nothing yet. These people will use WMD if they can get it, because they hate us more than they love life.
Posted by: jesusland joe at December 01, 2005 08:46 PM (rUyw4)
13
Rob said: "As long as you choose to tar and feather all Muslims, pacifists, and those on the left with the same brush, your only available solution is to kill them all."
Now you're getting the picture.
"In other words, these aren't your normal leftists. In fact, they may not even be leftists at all."
Yet they are still clueless morons, which in and of itself is sufficient evidence to warrant their removal from the gene pool.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 01, 2005 11:09 PM (0yYS2)
14
Jesusland Joe,
CPT is a small organization but, according to their website, they have maintained short- and long-term delegations in the following conflict zones:
- Burundi & East Congo
- Canada (generally focused on aboriginal land claims conflicts, which have a history of armed conflict)
- Colombia
- Hebron (Isreal/Palestine)
- Iraq
- USA (generally focused on urban violence, gang warfare, with some attention also paid to aboriginal conflicts)
- UK (the focus in the UK is unclear. Surprisingly, while they maintain contacts in Northern Ireland, no formal delegation has ever been sent)
They seem to maintain a policy of only going to conflict zones where they have been invited by local groups or grassroots organizations with whom they can partner.
From the sounds of it, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are all places where perhaps CPT could build some bridges and play a role. If you know of any local organizations that are committed to developing peaceful responses to the problems you mention, I'd encourage you to put them in contact with CPT to see if there is some way that they can help.
Posted by: Rob at December 02, 2005 12:30 AM (Wl7Nx)
15
Agent Brown says, "a push from the left and a shove from the right?"
Posted by: Agent Smith at December 02, 2005 08:04 AM (fLJDr)
16
Hmmm, according to Rob's data, the CPT seems to be drawn to
communist/fascist insurgencies. This makes sense to me. I think they are "liberation theologists", who are basically soft communists, and who are trying to broker "peace" between communist/fascist murderers, and their victims; peace which seems to always favor the murderers, as in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, where "Christians" aided the terrorists who were murdering people, because the terrorists were communists. Not that I think they actively support terrorists and murderers, at least not in their minds, but they do seem to be playing the role of "useful idiots" very well. In any event, they are doing nothing to help anyone, and seem to only be hurting efforts if anything, so they should learn to keep their liberal noses out of other peoples' business, before they lose their heads.
Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at December 03, 2005 10:13 AM (0yYS2)
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