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March 11, 2006
Pacifist finds peace at last
So, the jihadists killed American pacifist Tom Fox, missing since last November.
Wretchard says of the organization Fox was with:
It is abundantly clear from the Christian Peacemaker Team website that they could hardly have done more to declare their sympathy for the Muslim world, the Palestinian cause or their distaste for America. A less haggard Tom Fox is shown holding up a sign protesting the construction of an Israeli barrier in "Palestine". There's a statement abhorring the publication of the Jyllands-Posten cartoons, which says:
We, the members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq, are disturbed by anti-Muslim cartoons from twelve different artists published in September by Denmark's daily paper the Jyllands-Posten. The publisher claims the freedom of speech to publish the cartoons, but we believe they are only spreading hate and bigotry. To those who believe and act as if terrorism is an essential part of the Islamic faith, we say No! Stop! We cannot stand by and remain silent when our gracious Muslim brothers and sisters are being defamed.
Wretchard says Fox wasn't a complete Candide; he had some awareness of the danger posed by the terrorists. But a taste of Fox's writing demonstrates the depths of his moonbattery.
Fox was not oblivious to the fact that terrorists in Iraq killed innocent people too. Or that his life was in danger at terrorist hands. He could offer no definite answer to the question he himself posed: "How do you stand firm against a car-bomber or a kidnapper?" But he was sure of one thing: fighting was always the wrong answer.
Clearly the soldier disconnected from God needs to have me fight. Just as clearly the terrorist disconnected from God needs to have me flee. Both are willing to kill me using different means to achieve he same end--that end being to increase the parasitic power of Satan within God's good creation. It seems easier somehow to confront anger within my heart than it is to confront fear. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right then I am not to give in to either. I am to stand firm against the kidnapper as I am to stand firm against the soldier. Does that mean I walk into a raging battle to confront the soldiers? Does that mean I walk the streets of Baghdad with a sign saying "American for the Taking?" No to both counts. But if Jesus and Gandhi are right, then I am asked to risk my life, and if I lose it to be as forgiving as they were when murdered by the forces of Satan.
Oh, please. Spare me a moment's mourning for this fool.
Gandhi and his ilk can only succeed when their foes are unwilling to be utterly ruthless. While the Indian pacifist made out okay against the Brits, his peaceful resistance would have proven hilarious to the Nazis. Stalin would have chuckled, filled his pipe and watched through narrowed eyes as Beria put a bullet into the ascetic's head.
I find pacifists to be perhaps the most contemptible of all creatures. They exist only as a result of the courage and sacrifices of brave men, who shield them from the natural cruelty of the world.
That Fox was unable to see that evil will triumph if good men do nothing, after the Holocaust, after the Killing Fields, after Rwanda, is simply disgusting.
His death is meaningless, for his killers valued his life no more than he did.
UPDATE
A commenter on Wretchard's site says:
You understand nothing. If it were not for men like that you would have no moral compass at all-he may have died uselessly--but he died for his beliefs, and they are the only kind of beliefs that will ever lead us to peace. I celebrate this man.
The commenter is right, after a fashion. Fox's beliefs truly are the only kind guaranteed to lead to peace.
The peace of the grave.
As for my moral compass, it points to Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions on April 4, 2003, when he saved more than 100 American GIs, killing 20-50 of the enemy, before he fell, mortally wounded.
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, United States Army.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with an armed enemy near Baghdad International Airport, Baghdad, Iraq on 4 April 2003.
On that day, Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers.
As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round.
Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded.
His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers. Sergeant First Class Smith’s extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the Third Infantry Division “Rock of the Marne,” and the United States Army.
Not only did he save the lives of his comrades that day, but the lives of countless others who might have suffered at the hands of the enemy troops that Sgt. Smith made sure would never fight again.
How many lives did Fox save?
Posted by Mike Lief at March 11, 2006 12:17 AM
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Comments
At the moment of death, was the cloudy film of naivety peeled back from this fool's eye to reveal the true face of the enemy of all free men?
Posted by: Jim at March 11, 2006 10:41 AM