Posted on 06/29/2014 9:03:24 AM PDT by marshmallow
Reeling from regional developments and disillusioned with the West, some Iraqi Christians are looking to Russia for support.
After a decade of church bombings, targeted killings, and anti-Christian workplace discrimination, Ramy Youssef has finally tired of Iraq’s halting progress and is intent on emigrating.
“I don’t want to leave. I don’t want these terrorists to do what no one’s ever done before: push Assyrians out of our historic homeland, but I can’t work like this,” said the fresh-faced IT technician, his voice rising, as he sipped tea in his cousin’s Erbil liquor store a month after death threats forced him to abandon his business in Baghdad.
Youssef will be the last of his immediate family to jet off—joining roughly two-thirds of Iraq’s pre-war population of 1.5 million Christians who’ve fled abroad or trudged north to Kurdistan. Before he goes, though, he’s keen to set the record straight and settle some old scores.
“This is America’s fault. It’s the Muslims who are killing us, but this never would have happened if the West hadn’t turned our lives upside down,” he fumed. “Maybe we’ll be able to return one day if we have proper allies.”
Enter Putin stage right.
As far as some of his Iraqi co-religionists are concerned, there’s a ready-made alternative to American influence out there and they’re frantically trying to solicit its support.
“Russia proved through history that it’s the only defender of Christians,” said Ashur Giwargis, who heads the Assyrian Patriotic Movement (APM), which for two years has energetically lobbied the Kremlin to support an independent Assyrian Christian state in northern Iraq.
Until recently, the Beirut-based exile and his colleagues, who are scattered among the global Iraqi diaspora, had little to show for their efforts, but in January, as Western-Russian tensions escalated over Ukraine, Giwargis was summoned to Moscow........
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
I would trust him more than I would Hussein obamar.
Obama really has improved our standing abroad, hasn’t he?
At least Putin supports Christians where as obammy is a moose limb.
How the world has changed in the past few years!
Who would ever thought after being attacked by Muslims in 9/11 and after that we would become a nation that would protect out attackers (Muslims) more than those who founded this great country.
At least Putin supports Christians where as obammy is a moose limb.
Putin bailed obammy out of us going to war in Syria. Maybe Putin will help king obamay out of this crisis too.
If there were muzzies being slaughtered by Christians, you know obamar would be all over it.
Wait a minute ... something doesn't look right there, eh?
The world really has been turned upside down. There was a FR article earlier today about Iraq getting Russian jets. I at first thought it was a misprint, and they meant Iran. Nope, it's Iraq.
And if Putin can help Iraq's Christians, I will cheer him every step of the way. Because no one else seems to care.
Well, yes, a couple of things. First that Mad Mo’s cult is a peaceful one, and that it was Bammy who said that. It was actually, “W”.
Don't forget that Bush II said much the same thing.
When they write the history books about this era, they'll have a hard time figuring out which U.S. president was the first Muslim to infiltrate the White House.
Christians now looking to Putin and Russia as their champion and savior.
Pervs, deviants and homos looking to Obama and America as their champion and savior.
Modern reality.
Meanwhile, China is moving to claim sovereignty of Okinawa. Imagine those Okinawa Life commercials with some bayonets.
The world is spiraling.
not an unreasonable position...and that is a pretty damn sad state of affairs.
I kind of figured you were. That’s why I added the bit about Mad Mo. :-)
The Iraqi know their country a lot better than we do. We wanted them to use M-16s but AK-47/74 are more suited to the harsh terrain and discipline (maintenance, learning, etc.)
Iraq flew the Mig 21, 23, 25, 29 and Su-27 when we invaded. The planes are durable and easy to maintain. You don’t need a multi-million dollar fly by wire aircraft to drop bombs on ISIS.
Another good analogy, who do you trust Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Eric Holder, Obama, or Putin?
LOL.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.