Free the Captives: Witness Against Illegal Detention and Torture

There was no news on Wednesday Feb 1 ot the fate of Tom Fox and the other CPT peaceworkers held captive in Iraq. Vigils continue around the world for focused prayer on their behalf; one vigil hosted by Eastern Mennonite University on Monday evening reminds us that the scope of this ordeal is far larger than the fate of four men:

Lawrence Yoder, a seminary professor at EMU, urged everyone there to pray not just for Fox but for everyone in Iraq. That includes the other hostages, the people holding them, the American military, the people working to rebuild the country, the ministers newly elected to office and those who opposed them.

"For all who are concerned about and involved in Iraq, we pray for a transforming vision of who God is, and how God wants to make things right," he said. [...]

Earl Martin, 61, of Harrisonburg, said he felt for Fox. When he was much younger, he himself was a prisoner – in Vietnam. He was treated well, but doesn't know if Fox's captors are showing him the same courtesy.

He also noted that the Iraq war bears some parallels with Vietnam. In each case, the prevailing mindset was to stay the course, Martin said.

"The tragedy of warfare when there would be many other ways we could solve these problems. In that way, it all becomes so tragic and senseless," he said.

Other prayers and notes of support have been left in the comments of Tom's blog:

You are loved so dearlly, dearly loved.

We were so impressed by you. Randomly showing up, braving the world of the intellectual search for peace. We were self rightous grad students, but your coming journey to Iraq humbled us. We admired you so much. You weren't going to sit semester after semester making plans, you were going. We all knew you were our "warrior," the brave one.

I know that, even now, your bravery and compassion have not failed.

Meanwhile, the turmoil in Iraq goes on.

from the Associated Press: Insurgents Thwarting Iraq Reconstruction

Guerrilla attacks in Iraq have forced the cancellation of more than 60 percent of water and sanitation projects, in part because American intelligence failed to predict the brutal insurgency, a U.S. government audit said. [...]

The rise of Iraq's insurgency was never envisioned by U.S. officials, who originally budgeted about 9 percent of reconstruction aid for project security, the audit said. [...]

Pre-invasion U.S. intelligence reports said guerrilla attacks were likely, White said.

"But nobody predicted anything of this magnitude in terms of resistance," said White, now an analyst with the Middle East Institute in Washington. "And in part, the magnitude of the resistance was spurred by our failures in reconstruction."