Friday, December 16, 2005

Update on CPT on Aljazeera

Just found this article thanks to Sojourners email.

According to an al Jazeera report Tuesday, their Web site has been flooded with messages of support for the four Christian Peacemaker Teams members who were abducted in Iraq on Nov. 26. Their report also quotes the grand mufti of Palestine, Shaikh Ikrima Sabri, as yet another prominent Muslim leader seeking the safe return of these Christian activists. "It is our duty to support them and to issue a vigorous appeal to the kidnappers to free them," Sabri said. Also, the Iraq Islamic party said in a statement, "The party calls on the captors to free them because their kidnapping is a dream opportunity for the supporters of the war against our country who say that Iraqis cannot tell the difference between those who support them and those who oppose them."

I hope that this is a time to help the world separate the actions of the State from the teachings of Jesus. That this war is a play of capitalistic domination and empire expansion and protecting the 'security' of an elite few...which has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus.

Lord, have mercy.

4 comments:

Emma said...

JDL- I am not really one to debate but your comment that "if we really wanted to be an empire no nation could stop us" is perfect- a perfect depiction of the arrogant ignorance that Americans are known for.

We aren't as indestructable as you may think.

And by the way, the idea of Empire Expansion isn't some Ryan Sharp over the top description. It's worldwide academic rhetoric with a good deal of validity.

Emma said...

Ryan- sorry to continue this debate via your blog...

JDL- have you ever heard of "over-extension"? Suppose we struck Iraq and blew it to bits... yes we can do it, but air power exclusively cannot rule the world. Do you think the rest of the world would just sit back calmly without doing a darn thing? No. most definitely not. You're right- we have much more air power than the rest of the world... but air power alone...
it doesn't matter. Let's say China stopped all trade with us- we'd be dead and I don't care how many missiles we have. You are seeing the world and the Empire in light of military force alone... and military is not the end all of an Empire and even we know it.

But if you want to talk military, let's do it. Right now we do not even have enough troops to stabilise Iraq. We would have to have a draft to do so...and we all know if there was a draft right now all hell would break loose. We had six times as many troops in Bosnia than we do in Irag....

If at this moment any other country or group wanted to fight us- we'd be dead. In fact, you should read up on that. A lot of people have done a lot of substantial research that this whole taunting was designed to do just that- to get us so wrapped up in a war that we, the super power were no longer so super. Over-extension is the technical terminology.

Anyhow, I read the book "Mayada" which was written by a woman close to the former dictator's family- granted awards and everything... and still she was imprisoned in tortured... so I understand your feelings about destroying a dictatorship... but let's not blur reality.

Missionary Democracy is a dangerous ideology, don't you think?

Iraq is voting, yes... but that does not mean it is anywhere near passing the two-turnover test... which is the political standard for deeming 'success' in democratization. In fact, in the past twenty years, the majority of countries that have failed. Even right now, many countries that got democracy are going back-by the choice of the people who have not ever reaped the so-called benefits of democracy- to want dictatorships. It's an interesting phenomonology.

and we all know that if this was really about deconstructing force dictatorships and creating missionary democracy- a term i have come to loathe- then, BURMA should have been invaded a long time ago.... things in Burma... man, things in Burma...


Colonialism vs. Imperialism... what's the difference?
Only that we want to feel like the good guys even though the rest of the world sees right through the euphoric ideals we are spoon fed by media and gov't that we then parrot back as if it is reality... but vision unblurred.... Colonialism and Imperialism is not so different.

JDL- it's all in love, all in love :) I'm a nice person I promise.

I'm sorry Ryan... haha.. i could go on and on and on... but I'll stop.

Emma said...

ps- one last thing... i promise :)
I realize we are already wrapped up in the war and massive withdrawal is not a viable or responsible tactic... so, despite all i said... we are in Iraq.

Randy Buist said...

Thanks Ryan for the post. I resonate with those whose hearts break for American kids who no longer have dads, American moms without husbands, and tens of thousands how have died in Iraq because of right wing policy to bring democracy to the middle east.

jdl - As for 'give me a break,' students of history will quickly tell you that working democracy takes decades and often centuries to really work well. For us to believe this democracy will take only a handful of years means we forsake all history from which we mgiht learn something.

As Ryan said previously, Lord have mercy!