[Peace-discuss] Only these foreigners? Lk 17:18

[John W.]

So you're gonna make me LOOK UP Luke 17:18, Carl?  ;-)


On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 1:11 PM, C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu>wrote:

       Protesters urge end to Afghan war in London march
>
> Soldiers and military families were among 5,000 protesters in London
> demonstrating against UK military operations in Afghanistan.
>
> The Stop the War Coalition says it was the first march against the Afghan
> war since the conflict began in 2001.
>
> L/Cpl Joe Glenton, of York, who faces a court martial for refusing to
> return to Afghanistan, led the protest march.
>
> The government said Afghanistan must become "stable and secure" before Nato
> forces could pull out.
>
> 'Disobeying orders'
>
> The death of British corporal James Oakland, of the Royal Military Police,
> in a blast on Thursday took the number of UK personnel killed in Afghanistan
> since 2001 to 222.
>
> The protesters gathered at Speakers' Corner, in Hyde Park. They then set
> off for Trafalgar Square, where speakers including MP George Galloway and
> campaigner Tariq Ali addressed the crowd.
>
> The Metropolitan Police estimated that 5,000 people took part.
>
> Some of the crowds chanted "Gordon Brown, terrorist" while others sang
> "What do we want? Troops out".
>
> L/Cpl Glenton told the BBC it had been "touch and go" whether he would be
> arrested by military police for taking part.
>
>
> Britain's own security is at risk if we again allow Afghanistan to become a
> safe haven for terrorists
> Ministry of Defence spokesman
>
> Soldier 'proud' of anti-war march
> Protesters rail against 'futile' war
>
> His court martial for refusing to return to Afghanistan is due to be held
> next month. At the moment he is confined to barracks on weekdays.
>
> Defending his appearance at the demonstration, he said: "This is my choice.
>
> "Somewhere down the line it's all going to come apart and people are going
> to be prosecuted for these things."
>
> 'It's scary stuff'
>
> L/Cpl Glenton said people who believed he had brought disgrace upon the
> British Army were "entitled to their opinion".
>
> He said: "I think what I am doing is in the British interest. I take my
> duty very seriously."
>
> The soldier could be sent to prison for going absent without leave in 2007,
> something he said he was not looking forward to.
>
> He said: "It's scary stuff, I have a wife and a family.
> L/Cpl Joe Glenton (right) led the march from Hyde Park
> L/Cpl Joe Glenton (right) led the march from Hyde Park
>
> "I don't want to [go to prison] but if I gone back [to Afghanistan] and
> been involved in that and caused the deaths of innocent people then I would
> never be able to shrug that off, I would never had been free.
>
> "The fact that I said no is fairly liberating, I can assure you."
>
> Another speaker in Trafalgar Square was Peter Brierley whose son, L/Cpl
> Shaun Brierley, was killed in Iraq.
>
> Mr Brierley, from Batley in West Yorkshire, confronted former Prime
> Minister Tony Blair at a memorial service at London's St Paul's Cathedral,
> telling him: "You have my son's blood on your hands."
>
> Speaking at the demonstration, he said: "They [the military] are not doing
> any good while they are over there.
>
> "They need to leave the country to sort itself out. While the British
> troops are there they are actually bringing in insurgents who are coming in
> to fight."
>
> 'Key to security'
>
> Meanwhile, a survey suggests that public support for the war has fallen
> further. The YouGov survey for Channel 4 News found that 62% of those
> questioned wanted British troops withdrawn in the coming year at the latest.
>
> Of 2,042 adults polled, 6% said that British troops were winning the war,
> compared with 36% who said they were not winning yet but eventual victory
> was possible, and 48% who said that victory was not possible.
>
> A similar survey in 2007 found that 36% thought that victory was
> impossible.
>
> A spokesman for the MoD said on Friday: "It is vital to the UK that
> Afghanistan becomes a stable and secure state that is able to suppress
> violent extremism within its borders.
>
> "Britain's own security is at risk if we again allow Afghanistan to become
> a safe haven for terrorists, and that would be the result if Nato forces
> were to pull out of the country immediately."
>
> In February 2003, an estimated one million took part in a march in London
> against the Iraq war.
>
>        ###
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