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

[C. G. Estabrook]

I had to, but I assumed you knew it...


John W. wrote:
> 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 
> <mailto: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.
> 
>            ###