Oh, so NOW you need our help...

So after the Korean missionaries were taken hostage by Taliban in Afghanistan, Koreans hit the streets in protest -- against us, of course, demanding that forces withdraw from Afghanistan and holding signs at candlelit vigils that read "End the US-ROK alliance in Afghanistan" and "US Troops Out Now!"

But now that time has dragged on, deadlines have passed, and Koreans have learned that the Afghan government can't kowtow to Taliban demands and -- surprise! -- that the Taliban isn't interested in their kaffeklatsch diplomacy or cash for hostages, they suddenly want OUR HELP!

"'We appeal for support from the people of the United States and around the world for resolving this crisis as early as possible,' Kim Jung-ja, the mother of one of the remaining captives, said.

'Especially, the families want the United States to disregard political interests and give more active support to save the 21 innocent lives,' she said, reading a statement before other relatives at the Saemmul Community church in Bundang, just outside Seoul, on Tuesday."

One sign at an anti-war protest read "Bush negotiate with the Taliban."

So let's get this straight -- when we go into a country to help people, we're branded imperialists and become the subject of derision around the world. But when their people are in deep doo-doo, recklessly taking an evangelization trip to a Muslim country, suddenly it's our responsibility to get them out of it? They want U.S. troops out, but if we were out, then we wouldn't be around to clean up their mess, would we?