Clock ticking on Christian peacemakers

This has got to be just agonizing for the loved ones of the two Canadian men being held hostage by terrorist group Swords of Righteous Brigades.

The captors have given the US and UK until next Thursday or else the hostages will be executed.

I find this very sad because these deaths could have been avoidable. However, I think it's a symptom of the do-gooder mentality of a lot of peace activists. What they don't realize is that al-Qaeda and its adherents subscribe to a murderous ideology without regard for human life. For instance, a former roommate of one of the jailed men said yesterday on Canada AM that she does not blame the captors because she thinks that they are just regular people who have been left without any other options in the wake of the invasion (or occupation, as she put it). I firmly disagree with that assessment. I don't think that kidnapping and executions deserve any kind of rationalization whatsoever. By refusing to see these horrific actions for anything less than they truly are, one is blinding themselves to the true realities of the Islamofacist movement.

I would hope that following this turn of events, all peace activists who think of themselves as human shields or whatever take heed and get the hell out of Iraq. It is much better to work towards a peaceful resolution to the turmoil in the Middle East right now from home rather than placing oneself in a potentially life-threatening situation.

You can't claim a moral victory if you're being beheaded.