Politics: Iraqi militants kidnap foreigners
Published April 09, 2004
Iraqis continue to repudiate the claim they are pleased by the invasion and occupation of their country. Their latest form of repudiation — in a week that has seen more backlash than any since the occupation — is hostage taking.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants seized a number of foreign nationals as hostages in Iraq on Thursday, threatening to burn alive one group of three Japanese unless their country withdrew its troops.
Seven South Koreans, seized while doing missionary work on Thursday, were later freed unharmed, Seoul's foreign ministry said
But the three Japanese as well as two Israeli Arabs and a Briton were reported still to be hostages after being seized by militants. An Iranian television station said the two Israeli Arabs were kidnapped by the Ansar a-Din group, and the uncle of one of the men identified him as an employee of a U.S. aid agency.
Gunmen frequently stage hold-ups on Iraq's lawless roads but taking hostages would mark an escalation of the growing conflict between U.S.-led forces and Iraqis and foreign militants opposed to the occupation.
Some of us in the blogosphere questioned the presence of Christian missionaries in Iraq after a newspaper articledescribing their presence there March 18.
At least nine evangelical churches have opened in Baghdad in the last eight months, many supported by American organizations contributing up to $100,000 per church. More than 900,000 Bibles in Arabic — along with hundreds of tons of food and medical supplies — have been sent to Iraq (news - web sites). About 30 Christian evangelical missionaries are working in Baghdad, and 150 others have visited since last summer. Some Christian groups focus on offering aid and avoid proselytizing.
These missionaries' humanitarian and religious labors are fraught with peril. Four Americans affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention were killed and one was critically injured Monday after gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in Mosul, north of Baghdad. A spokesman for the International Mission Board said the Americans had been scouting locations for humanitarian and evangelical work.
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- Politics: Iraqi militants kidnap foreigners
- Published: April 09, 2004
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mac Diva
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I am not clear on this and would appreciate input from knowledgeable people who are. Can't the government stop civilians from traveling to a war zone for a reason such as evangelizing? It seems to me that doing so would preclude the fallout that will surely occur when some of those people are taken hostage or killed. Both the constitutionally protected right to free expression and right to travel are limited. So, I wonder why the protective measure of limiting travel to Iraq has not been taken.
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First let me say that I absolutely abhor what some Iraqis are doing to civilians. It's just beyond words.
But my feeling about civilians who are in Iraq to evangelize [even if it's under the guise of "humanitarian aid"] is that I don't think our military should go out of its way to protect them. By that I mean that soldiers shouldn't endanger themselves to protect civilians there to try to convert Iraqis to their religion.
If you are a civilian and you go into Iraq for religious reasons or even just for a fat pay check, you shouldn't expect the US military to protect you. I'm not saying the civilians do expect protection, but I just don't want to hear about one US military casualty that results from protecting civilians.
Civilians should bring their own protection, but as we've seen, even retired commandos aren't safe there.