The Irony: Bush's War Makes Life Tougher for Christians in Iraq

The Iraq war, commanded by a self-described born-again Christian, has resulted in more discrimination against the Iraqi Christian minority.  The hate violence toward Iraqi Christians has grown more out of hand as the war has gone on.  Last Wednesday, the pastor at one of Iraq's largest churches called the situation "more than desperate," and added that the "coalition has failed the Christians."

So just how bad is it for this minority?  The US Commission on International Religious Freedom held a hearing on religious hate violence in Iraq.  According to Michael Cromartie, chairman of the group and a Bush appointee, about half of all Iraqi Christians have fled the country.  Cromartie elaborated even more:

He explained that “Violence against members of Iraq’s Christian community is of particular concern in Baghdad and the northern Kurdish regions.  Reported abuses include the assassination of Christian religious leaders, the bombing and destruction of churches, and violent threats intended to force Christians from their homes. In some areas, ordinary Christians have reportedly stopped participating in public religious services for fear of inviting further violence.”          

Pascale Warda, an Assyrian Christian who was the Minister of Migration and Displacement during the first transitional Iraqi government, testified, “Over 30 churches have been destroyed, priests have been kidnapped, killed, or beheaded, and the Christians have been systematically targeted for persecution by Islamic fundamentalists. A 14-year-old boy was crucified in Basra. A one-year-old baby was roasted and delivered to his mother’s doorstep, on a bed of rice.”

As a Christian myself, this report is beyond sickening.  Analyst Doug Bandow summed up what George W. Bush's military adventure has done for Christians:

The irony is extraordinary: America, a nation with deep Christianroots, has inadvertently loosed the vicious forces bent on destroyingIraqi Christians.  Persecuted by Islamic extremists and targeted for their frequentcooperation with occupation authorities, Christians have ever less hopein a nation that has fallen into violent chaos...

When Saddam Hussein was in power, his government discriminated against Iraqi Christians by forcing them to confirm to Arab culture.  However, being that the regime was secular, Christians were protected from right-wing Islamic extremist groups, which the government cracked down on because they posed a threat to Saddam's rule.