Flood waters diverted in Pakistan to save U.S. airbase

It appears that flood waters have been diverted in Pakistan to save a U.S. air base. The Shahbaz air base is used by the U.S. military to launch drone attacks into Afghanistan and Pakistan, attacks that kill a disproportionate number of civilians by the way. When the flood waters threatened the base, the waters were intentionally diverted to the Jacobabad district, victimizing approximately 800,000 people according to numerous media reports coming out of Pakistan.

In other news, the U.N. has requested 2 Billion dollars for flood relief in Pakistan. Meanwhile the House has recently approved a 37 billion dollar supplemental war spending bill to finance the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, requested by President Obama.

So let me get this straight. While flood waters are causing one of the greatest, if not the greatest environmental disasters since the founding of the U.N., we, the people of the United States of America and the leaders we elected, seem to think that a better priority than saving lives and property, is to save a U.S. base used to carry out extra -judicial killing on scores of innocent women and children. We think it's a greater priority to spend 37 billion dollars on financing endless war than 2 billion dollars to win hearts and minds by caring for the sick, the hungry, and the dispossessed. Oh, and one more thing, at the time of this writing, the U.S. military is refusing to allow the use of the Shahbaz base for relief efforts.

God forgive us!

The ACLU files lawsuit against President Obama over drone attacks

Last night I googled the words "drone attacks Obama" to verify if President Obama has indeed increased unmanned aerial drone attacks in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region. Sure enough, not only has the president significantly increased these extrajudicial killings that also happen to kill a lot of civilians; it turns out that the ACLU has recently filed a lawsuit against the president challenging his right to carry out the attacks.

Just for kicks, I'd like to take a look at President Bush's human rights policies and see which ones have been continued under President Obama.

Extraordinary renditions? Check.

Militarization of Latin America? Check.

Fumigating crops in Columbia to fight the drug war? Check.

Threat of military force against Iran? Check.

Drone attacks against civilians in Pakistan? Increased.

Military aid to Israel? Increased.

What is striking about the President is that despite his smooth-talking in Cairo, despite the Nobel Peace prize, despite the never ending efforts of neo-con pundits to turn Obama into a first class whimp, the difference between Obama and Bush is a mile wide when it comes to rhetoric but an inch deep when it comes to reality.

Granted, Obama’s willingness to work with—as opposed to arrogantly dismiss—the international community on issues like nuclear non-proliferation and global climate change, along with his more respectful tone towards the Muslim world, has gone a long way to reduce the knee-jerk anti-Americanism that was so prevalent during the Bush years. Still, I wonder if Christians in the historic peace-churches will be able to honestly vote for a second term in 2012 and still have the right to call themselves pacifists?

While it may be true that a McCain/Palin administration would have been more bellicose and hostile to the rest of the world, at what point does voting for the lesser of two evils become complicity in acts of violence against others? Perhaps it’s a little early to ask this question, but the question still bothers me nonetheless.

Great things are happening!

Dear friends,

I hope you're having a good day today. I thought I'd share a few things that I wasn't able to squeeze into my previous letter. A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from an American missionary in Cambodia detailing the life story of a young Cambodian man that has started a church in a remote village. The individual was someone that I taught, and singled out, in last year's Simply the Story workshop in Cambodia. This young man began ministering to children through stories, and in particular, the God's Story recording that our team brought with us. Before he knew it, the children started coming to church--and bringing their parents! It's a real pleasure being a part of training someone that takes the training and uses it to win souls to Christ! I know that there were many other influences that contributed to this young man's success, but I'm grateful to be one of those influences. As the Apostle Paul says, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase" (I Corinthians 3:6).

Secondly, I just received a report from Jean Pierre, our disciple in Senegal. As you may remember, a few months ago I, along with a colleague, taught two workshops in Senegal, one in Ziguinshor and one in Dakar. I've just been told that one of the pastors that we trained has used our training and, again, along with the God's Story recording, has won several people among the Serer tribe to Christ. I've been told that there's a high demand now for the God's Story film. Jean Pierre asked that we send 15 films to him immediately so that he can distribute them to the pastors.

Lastly, you may recall that back in August of last year I sent an e-mail detailing the Muslim attack on the Christian village of Gojra in Pakistan. At least 9 people were killed, over a hundred homes were destroyed, along with several church buildings. I knew that Christians in the U.S. could have an influence on the situation, so I located the general contact e-mail address for the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan. I asked our supporters to write to the U.S. embassy informing them that according to our local sources, the rioting was still going on and that the Pakistani government was not doing enough to protect the Christians in Gojra. Some of you responded. Yesterday, I spoke with one of our Pakistani contacts and he informed me that the Pakistani government has since stepped in and started rebuilding the village of Gojra--including the churches! He told me that when he saw my e-mail he put it out on his Face Book page and eventually a lot of people wrote in to the U.S. embassy. He believes that the e-mails were a big factor in persuading the Pakistani government to help the people of Gojra. Again, I don't presume to say that our e-mails were the only factor in this situation (The New York Times did an outstanding job in covering the situation) but I do believe that they made a difference.

I hope that this encourages you to make a difference wherever you live.

While there is still time,


Aaron

P.S. To learn more about me and the ministry of Great Commission Society, or to make an online donation, please go to http://www.aarondtaylor.com