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Stewart Vriesinga's Quaker convictions brought him to Iraq as a CPT volunteer. In the days leading up to the commencement of hostilities, he says the group was meeting for daily prayer and to discuss contingency plans. He says the group never planned to leave Iraq in the event of a ground war. Vriesinga says staffers live with the daily reality that they could be die from a stray bomb or amid rioting.

"In the last Gulf War there were massive revolts, and the majority of Iraqis rely on food rations, so we realize there may be a civil war," Vriesinga says. "Yes, I am afraid. I was afraid long before coming to Baghdad about what this war will mean for the people of the world."

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Related Elsewhere:

Previous CT articles on Christian Peacemaker Teams include:

Standing for Peace on the Eve of War | Christian group seeks nonviolent solution in Iraq. (March 12, 2003)

Risking Life for Peace | Caught between rebels, paramilitaries, and crop-dusters, peacemaking Christians put their lives on the line in violent Colombia. (September 7, 2001)

Hebron's Peacemakers Find No Shalom in Olive Branches | Christian Peacemaker Teams, a social-justice group working overseas, is testing the boundaries of nonviolent intervention in its mission to Hebron. (Sept. 16, 1996)

Previous Christianity Today articles and commentary on the current war with Iraq include:

Standing for Peace on the Eve of War | Christian group seeks nonviolent solution in Iraq. (March 12, 2003)

Weapons of the Spirit | Regardless of their positions on Iraq, Christians have much they can do. (Feb. 25, 2003)

Just War in Iraq | Sometimes going to war is the charitable thing to do. (Dec. 10, 2002)

Bully Culprit | Can a pre-emptive strike against the tyrant of Baghdad be justified? (Sept. 30, 2001)

Christian Leaders Respond to Bush's National Security Strategy | The White House outlines foreign policy in a changing world. (September 25, 2002)

Is Attacking Iraq Moral? | Christian leaders disagree, too. (September 4, 2002)

Recently, Christianity Today associate news editor Stan Guthrie reported on the plight of Iraqi Christians.

A downloadable Bible study on the implications of war with Iraq is available at CurrentIssuesBibleStudy.com. These unique Bible studies use articles from current issues of Christianity Today to prompt thought-provoking discussions in adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47