Residual Forces

A fellow MOBster and occasional Trivia partner Uncle Ben from HammerSwing 75 has some terrible news about a friend of his family who has been kidnapped in Iraq.

Mr. Kember is a good friend of my parents and a longtime member of my Granny’s church, Harrow Baptist. I remember seeing him a few years ago when I stopped by in England to visit my Gran. We were at the church and he came over for some conversation. “I remember when you were this tall”, putting his hand down by his knees. He is an extremely nice man who went out of his way to be friendly. His wife Pat, who possesses an equally wonderful character, must be in absolute shock.

My parents have asked for my prayers. There will be many. I, in turn, am asking for yours. I hope that there will be many.

I haven’t even had time to get angry at the people who have done this. For the time being that isn’t important. Our prayers are. Thanks

P.S. Please ask others as well.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and yours Ben.

While in Baghdad on a mission of peace Professor Norman Kember, an American, and 2 Canadians have been taken hostage by the terrorists. According to the reports I’ve seen, Kember was only visiting for a couple weeks when he was taken. His identity and the nationalities of the other 3 have been confirmed, but identities have been with held. The 4 were with a group known as “Christian Peacemaker Teams”.

from Breitbart (via Drudge)

Christian Peacemaker Teams issued a statement Tuesday saying the four men were working on behalf of Iraqi civilians. The group said it has had a team in Iraq since October 2002, working with U.S. and Iraqi detainees and training others in nonviolent intervention and human rights documentation.

Kember and another person were part of a visiting delegation, while two members of the group’s Iraq-based staff also were taken, the statement said.

Kember, a retired professor, is a longtime peace activist who once fretted publicly that he was taking the easy way out by protesting in safety at home while British soldiers risked their lives in Iraq.

The U.S. Embassy has confirmed that an American is missing in Iraq _ presumably one of the aid workers. A Canadian official has said two Canadians were in the group.

“The team’s work has focused on documenting and focusing public attention on detainee abuses, connecting citizens of Iraq to local and international human rights organizations, and accompanying Iraqi civilians as they interact with multinational military personnel and Iraq’s government officials,” the group said.

The statement said those taken hostage knew the risks when they went to Iraq.

God Bless