PASTORS FOR PEACE

Jerry Scharf at Common Sense & Wonder posted a letter describing the thoughts of a woman named Juanita Rodriguez regarding her travels to Cuba. She accompanied a group called Pastors for Peace which is an operational division, along with the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO), of International A.N.S.W.E.R. Here's some of what she wrote of her trip.

Cuba a thriving, happy haven, 50 years on

By JUANITA RODRIGUEZ

The United States government has been threatened by the success of the Cuban revolution from its very beginning in 1959. That a small island might launch a revolution and empower the masses was - and remains - unthinkable to the Powers That Be in Washington, D.C. The U.S. has a long history of retaliation; of assaults, assassination attempts and devious disruption of the social, economic, agricultural, cultural and political fabric that is Cuba. Still, Cuba not only survives; in many ways, it is thriving.

[ . . . ]

As I see it, the world should be paying very close attention to Cuban society, acknowledging the errors, but learning from its successes. Against great odds, it has achieved what other nations have been unable to achieve. I saw a healthy, active, intelligent, proud and unified people, celebrating 50 years of a Revolution that have changed the world.

Obviously, Juanita Rodriguez is an anti-American cultist and cheerleader for Fidel Castro and communism. Her letter makes that much clear and I'll not dwell on it.

Worth examining, though, are the groups she's chosen to join. International A.N.S.W.E.R. is a coalition of every imaginable group that advocates extreme political action and, sometimes, violence. For example:

Pastors for Peace - This group's website states they are a ministry created to deliver humanitarian aid to Latin America and the Carribean. However, the leader of the group, Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., stated:

"I received the inspiration to intensify IFCO's work for international justice by directly challenging and seeking the (sic) change the unjust and meanspirited foreign policies of the United States. This led to the creation of a special department of IFCO known as Pastors for Peace."

"We must dispel the myth that all is well in the United States, and you encourage us in this commitment. Our promise to you is to be faithful to the vision not only of a better world, but a better United States. We return to the US to continue our struggle until all have universal health care, all have universal free education, until there is an end to capital punishment, until all political prisoners in the United States are free, until police brutality is a thing of the past, until racism, sexism and homophobia are vestiges of the past and until our country is committed to cease using food and medicine as tools of war, until all sanctions are ended . . . ."

It's fairly easy to see that Pastors for Peace portrays themselves as a ministry providing humanitarian aid but, it's also easy to see that their real agenda, clearly stated by the founder, is dramatic social and political upheaval within the United States.

Middle East Children's Alliance (MECA) - This group's website has as their motto:

"While the world is looking elsewhere, the Israeli military kills and provokes"

and, under Educational Focus, wants to teach Americans of the:

US taxpayers' role in the occupation of Iraq and Palestine and the consequences suffered domestically as a result of the dangerously flawed US foreign policy in Iraq and Palestine/Israel.

The messages from these two groups are clear. Pastors for Peace want to radically alter the American way of life. MECA is anti-Israel and is working to "educate" Americans to become anti-American. Within the Steering Committee of A.N.S.W.E.R., there are listed eight similar groups, all purporting to be for friendly and worthwhile causes, but all working against democracy and capitalism while working for socialism and communism.

Juanita Rodriguez expresses nothing other than anti-American, pro-Communist propaganda and the only differences between her and Fidel Castro are gender and residence.