Crossing to safety

Another example of the thunderous silence of the "moderate" Muslim community. And in this case I mean the Iraqi government in Baghdad. We are sending boys to die so that the Maliki government can turn a blind eye to the persecution of Iraq's non-Muslim citizens? Sheesh...

I don't think the U.S. Government (read: "Bush Administration") is smart enough to even realize that there ARE such a thing as Iraqi Christians. Nor do they realize that there are such a thing as Palestinian Christians, either, but that's a whole 'nother topic. Its either that or they simply don't give a sh&t.
Which is it Mr. Bush, are you ignorant or evil? (Personally, I think he's both.)

Two things about comments above. First re: mine. Iraqi Christians are the canaries is the coal mine. When we finally withdraw from Iraq whether "successful" or not, that's the political philosophy of the Iraqi government government we can expect. Either totally Islamic or heavily invested in the philosophy of Sharia Law. Either way, it isn't worth another guy dieing for. Secondly, if we don't pay attention to the process flow of stuff into the United States, we waste a ton of money premised on the politics of fear promulgated by the Bush administration over the past 5 years. We can check every square inch of every container that floats into American ports. But if the Canadians and the Mexicans do not check every square inch of every container that floats into their ports, the terrorists simply ship bad stuff to Canada or Mexico and drive it across the border to America. And can somebody please explain to me how to track every package shipped by air freight? Is too hard to imagine that bad stuff can be shipped in piecewise by air? And terrorists coming to the US from Mexico? Even with an inpregnable fence between the US and Mexico, and Islamist has to only get into Canada and walk across 3,000 miles of unsecured border. There was a sad and stupid story a couple of years ago about the new requirement for passports to travel between the US and Canada. A US and Canadian town pair that traded freely across each other s border were really inconvenienced because they did so much business with each other each day. Well a terrorist without documentation has to only meander down the river few hundred meters and wade or canoe across. The only point of this stupid regulation is to reinforce the politics of fear. Intelligence is not an sufficient condition for wisdom. Those Ivy League guys in the administration are idiots. I can't wait until this fiasco of an adminstration is over. (Rod, if calling somebody an idiot who is objectively an idiot violates blog rules, please delete the above line and let the rest stand.)

Rod, Thanks for the guidance. I'm an idiot so I guess you can delete anything I ever post in a mobius strip twisted logic kind of way. I dunno, maybe I can get a job with the Standard, or even fetch donuts for Michael Novak or the "I got mine and the hell with the rest of you troglodytes" eating cake, genius IQ Charles Murray. "And oh Maria, you missed a spot over there in the corner." Steve P.S. Recognition is the first step towards a cure.

Although I'm an immigration restrictionist, I believe that this is one group (Iraqi Christians) that the US has a moral obligation to help re-settle in other countries and if necessary, the US.

I'm sorry, I misread "I believe that this is one group (Iraqi Christians)..." as "This is *the* one group..." Forgive my faux pas and ignore the question (unless anyone who does believe they're the only group to whom we have a moral obligation, then feel free to respond.)

So the Bush Administration set out to make the Middle East safe for democracy, and ended up making it uninhabitable for Christianity. Sounds about right. As the French say, it was worse than a crime - it was a blunder.

I remember reading before our invasion of Iraq that toppling Saddam Hussein would be bad for Iraqi Christians, since Hussein, being an atheist/pragmatist, used force to keep the opposing forces in Iraq from fighting/destroying each other, and he also protected the Christians from what would be their fate under an Islamic religious state. Of course, to many American Evangelical Christians Iraqi believers are not really "Christians," since they are "Orthodox": Who Are the Iraqi Christians? *sigh* Kyrie, eleison

Eric W: Of course, to many American Evangelical Christians Iraqi believers are not really "Christians," since they are "Orthodox" Interesting you mention that. Yesterday I had lunch with a new Evangelical friend who told me that some years back, she was with a group of American Evangelicals visiting Russia, and they attempted to evangelize Russian Orthodox believers. She said she's embarrassed by that now. Similarly, my wife is mortified by the attitude she and other members of her Baptist church youth choir had in 1992, when they visited Barcelona as part of the Olympics festivities, and were invited to sing in several area Catholic churches. Julie says they were all moved to tears by the fact that for the first time in 500 years, Christians would be in those churches.
On the other hand, wouldn't Catholic and Orthodox believers expect to try to convince Evangelicals of the truth claims of their faith? I think what offends is not so much the notion that Evangelicals are trying to convince Orthodox and Catholic people that they (the Evangelicals) have a more authentic version of Christianity, as it is the idea that (some) Evangelicals think they are not even dealing with fellow Christians in these cases.

The link didn't seem to work. Here is the URL: http://www.namb.net/atf/cf/{CDA250E8-8866-4236-9A0C-C646DE153446}/BB_E_Orthodox_Manual.pdf and I'll try creating a link again: Witnessing to People of Eastern Orthodox Background

On posted pdf URL: Money Quote: "American: How do you know about God? I thought the Communists made sure nobody believed in God anymore. Russian: They tried, but we all knew he still is there. Russia has been a Christian nation for over a thousand years. It would take more than 70 years of Communism to change who we are. American: Wow, a thousand years that s over four times older than America. I had no idea!
Now consider my Mesopotamian version: "American: How do you know about [Christ]? I thought the Mohammedans made sure nobody believed in a [Trinitarian] God anymore. Chaldean/Syriac: They tried, but we all knew he still is [here on our altars]. [Iraq] has been a [part of mission territory ever since Jesus's disciple Peter founded the See of Antioch] for over [two] thousand years. It would take more than [1400] years of [Islam] to change who we are. American: Wow, [two] thousand years that s [ten] times older than America. I had no idea!
So four years of Operation Iraqi Freedom wreaks more havoc than Mohammed's cohorts could in the intervening millenia and a half?
Whose side is the "enemy" on?
Methinks the Great Deceiver has played us... were we not ripe for the picking? Serious pruning will be needed to heal the Body of Christ of its "american exceptionalist" errors (both north and south of the border) - I caught the AU Law School Commencement Speech broadcast on CSPAN (from the Roman Catholic Basilica no less) by VA Sec Jim Nicholson http://www.c-spanarchives.org/videolibrary/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=198331-1&tID=5 Can't find a transcript - but I can approximate how he described being asked back in the early nineties (he was Ambassador to Holy See) by Pope JPII how America was going to use its immense temporal powers to serve the people of the world, but ducked an answer, instead recalled frequent diplomatic meetings where they "disagreed" but the meetings always ended with the Pope praying "God Bless America"... duh - I'm sure he'd pray God Bless Mecca if Saudi Arabia ever recognized the Holy See diplomatically and sent an envoy for "dialogue" http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702490.htm But they don't... and yet we're asked to believe they're a close ally of the USA? Why? Close business partner? Yes I'll grant that, but nought else...
N.B. we start selling 'em "stuff", then their state-owned (read Monarch) assets get super-concentrated, then buy send their corporate raiders to buy us out? Sound far fetched? A year ago OMX pimped out the Dubai Stock exchange. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2006_May_22/ai_n16374842 Now that same Muslim monarch' personal bank account [exchange] plans on out bidding the Nasdaq for the rights to control Nordic financial markets. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article1850845.ece Heck Sudan must be rubbing their hand in glee - the USA bans 'em using dollars to trade oil with the Chinese? Up yours! They'll just use riyals in Tallin instead... The prosperity gospel in action, folks!

Inexcusable that these Assyrian Christians are not allowed asylum in the U.S. No great number of brain cells are required to grasp that their lives are in danger. BTW, Assyrian Christians are NOT Orthodox. They are non-Chalcedonian Christians. As are Copts.
At any rate, onward marches the rule of ignorance in denying these suffering people a safe haven.

Its outrageous that Rod Dreher would lambast the situation of the Iraqis and categorize only the Christian persecution, as biased as he is. Under Saddam (remember the great evil madman?) Christians, Sunni, Shia's lived in relative peace and intermarried.
Now thanks to Rod Dreher's US gov't that wanted to end WMDs (the worst excuse of 'em all to justify the invasion) Iraqis are suffering more than ever.
Its not JUST THE Christians but wholly the Shia's and the Sunni Muslims whose lives have been uprooted, their country "shocked and awed" and their future rendered hopeless. And what does he point out? Few Iraqi Christians fleeing? How about admitting the very Iraqis whom US helped to displace with their magic "march through democracy throughout the Middle East" FOR ISRAEL'S and OIL's SAKE. Pathehic.