{"id":25459,"date":"2017-11-07T08:55:27","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T08:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.acnmalta.org\/?p=25459"},"modified":"2017-11-07T08:55:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T08:55:27","slug":"iraq-west-must-act-now-save-iraqi-christians-george-j-marlin-acn-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acnmalta.org\/_oldsite\/2017\/11\/07\/iraq-west-must-act-now-save-iraqi-christians-george-j-marlin-acn-us\/","title":{"rendered":"IRAQ  West must act\u00a0now\u00a0to save Iraqi Christians &#8211; George J. Marlin \u2013 ACN US"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><h2><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">IRAQ<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h2><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">West must act\u00a0<em>now<\/em>\u00a0to save Iraqi Christians<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The timing could not be better. In an Oct. 25th\u00a0address, Vice President Mike Pence conveyed President Trump\u2019s pledge that the US Government will channel aid more directly to Christians, Yazidis and other persecuted religious minorities in Iraq.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The vice-president pledged that \u201cthe United States will work hand in hand from this day forward with faith-based groups and private organizations to help those who are persecuted for their faith.\u201d The US, he said, \u201cwill no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ever since the US Government recognized the crimes of IS against Christians and other minorities as genocide, political leaders, prelates and the faithful have been clamouring for the release of USAID funds to benefit the reconstruction of the Nineveh Plains. Their cry has finally been heard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Significant funding is desperately needed to repair thousands of family homes and the battered infrastructure in nine Christian towns on the Nineveh Plains. However, at this very writing, political action is an equally urgent need for Iraqi\u2019s faithful: Iraqi forces and Kurdistan\u2019s Peshmerga units appear inches away from a military clash that threatens to engulf the Nineveh Plains in another round of violence and destruction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the summer of 2014, ISIS invaded the region and chased more than 100,000 Christians from their homes and properties. Most of these families spent three years as Internally Displaced People in Erbil, Kurdistan, hoping and praying for a chance to go home again. The defeat of ISIS in Iraq made that a possibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Nevertheless, an all-out battle between Baghdad and Erbil may close that window of opportunity for good. Already, the Chaldean town of Teleskuf\u2014which in recent months saw the return of close to three-quarters of its former Christian residents\u2014is now experiencing a new exodus of faithful; in the wake of mortar shells landing in the town some 850 families have fled and are reliving a nightmare. Local sources report that Christians in neighbouring towns are preparing for the worst as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">These families will most likely choose exile or emigration rather than pin their hopes on a highly unlikely second homecoming. If a new war breaks out in the region, there is no telling if Kurdistan could again be a safe haven for displaced Christians and other minorities. Remnants of IS and other Islamic extremist groups are likely to take advantage of the chaos of another conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The US, in tandem with its Western and regional allies, must move quickly to broker an enduring peace between Baghdad and Erbil, an accord that forces both sides to make concessions under threat of losing Western economic and diplomatic support. Baghdad\u2019s wish for territorial integrity must be balanced with Erbil\u2019s aspiration for genuine autonomy. The US, too, must be willing to use its clout to curb Iranian and Turkish ambitions in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The political muscle must back up the US pledge of more generous and efficient funding for the rebuilding of Iraq\u2019s Christian heartland\u2014and that must happen now! Time is very, very short. \u00a0And, no matter what happens next, the President\u2019s pledge must be made real by the immediate funding and empowerment of local faith-based and private NGOs. The survival of Christianity in Iraq hangs in the balance.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>George J. Marlin \u2013 ACN US<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IRAQ West must act\u00a0now\u00a0to save Iraqi Christians &nbsp; The timing could not be better. In an Oct. 25th\u00a0address, Vice President Mike Pence conveyed President Trump\u2019s pledge that the US Government will channel aid more directly to Christians, Yazidis and other persecuted religious minorities in Iraq. The vice-president pledged that \u201cthe United States will work hand&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-newsletters"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>IRAQ West must act\u00a0now\u00a0to save Iraqi Christians - George J. 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