Ben at HammerSwing75 has reminded us of the importance of praying for our troops and hostages, as a family friend (Norman Kember, a grandfather in his 70s) is one of the four civilians kidnapped in Iraq on Saturday (more here).

Via CQ and Eckernet.

UPDATE: It appears he was in Iraq on a peace mission with Christian Peacemaker Teams. And Rusty has more on the situation, including some questions about civilian “humanitarian” missions.

And Bluto similarly has concerns.

Kember’s words show that he was aware, at least intellectually, of the risks to himself. Unfortunately, Kember had no thought about increasing the risks to the “young service men in Iraq”. They are the ones who will be affected directly in the case of a hostage rescue mission, and indirectly, as organizations like the one Kember represents prolong the war by tying up military resources that could be used to put the terrorist insurgency out of action that much sooner. There’s also the possibility of a ransom resulting in a large infusion of cash to the terrorists. It’s doubtful they’ll spend the money on peaceful acquisitions.

Kevin has a bit more, where he notes that Canada is reportedly negotiating with terrorists. And PoliTechnical, like some others, notices a differentiation between humanitarian aid worker and “peace activist.”

Our prayers are certainly for the safe return of Norman Kember and the other three hostages, despite whether or not they are to blame for their predicament.

Rusty digs in even harder.

Confronted by President George W. Bush with the choice: “If you are not with us, you are with the terrorists”, we choose a third option: nonviolence.

Kember is a signatory to this denial of reality, number 21.

Can you say irony? These folks don’t believe in violence, but it appears violence believes in them. The way I see it, that leaves three options to win Kember’s freedom.

First, a ransom can be paid to the kidnappers. The money paid will then be used to purchase the tools of terrorism, ensuring that more people die violently in Iraq. Perhaps the terrorists will buy some toys to booby-trap.

The second option is for Coalition and Iraqi soldiers to rescue them. The soldiers will have to put their own lives on the line to accomplish this, of course, and some terrorists are likely to die in the process. I shed no tears for dead terrorists, but Professor Kember and his mates might.

Norman Kember’s third option is to lie down and die.

UPDATE 2: Changing the title of the post.