Baghdad Churches Packed For Christmas

Numbers Unthinkable A Year Ago; Violence Elsewhere In Iraq Kills At Least 34

(CBS/AP)  Thousands of Iraqi Christians picked their way through checkpoints and along dusty streets lined with concrete blast walls, crowding into churches in Baghdad on Tuesday for Christmas Mass.

Death is never far in Iraq -- two separate suicide attacks, including one apparently targeting workers in a northern oil hub, killed at least 34 people on Tuesday, shattering more than a week of relative calm, local and U.S. military authorities said.

A suicide truck bomb exploded outside a residential complex belonging to a state-run oil company in Beiji, home to Iraq's largest refinery, killing 25 people and wounding 80, police and hospital officials said.

In Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, 10 people were killed and five people were wounded in a suicide bombing, the U.S. military said. Baqouba police said Dr. Ahmed Fuad of Baqouba hospital put the death toll at nine.

Local officials said a bomber wearing an explosives vest targeted a funeral procession for two members of an Awakening Council group - fighters who have turned against al Qaeda in Iraq - who were accidentally killed by U.S. troops during a dawn raid.

In Beiji, the bomber detonated his explosives-rigged pickup truck when Iraqi police and members of the volunteer security force prevented him from entering the gate of a compound belonging to the state-run North Oil Company, a police officer said.

Beiji's police chief was fired, said Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Authorities imposed a curfew on the city, about 155 miles north of Baghdad, until further notice.

Iraq's oil industry and those who work in it have come under repeated attack since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion, usually through bombings of key pipelines. Revenue from the oil industry is seen as key to funding Iraq's reconstruction and sparking economic recovery.

But the number of attacks in Iraq in general has fallen dramatically in the past few months - the U.S. military says by 60 percent since June - and the country's small Christian community took advantage of the lower violence to turn out in numbers unthinkable a year ago.

"We did not celebrate last year, but this year we have security and we feel better," said Rasha Ghaban, one of many women at the small Church of the Holy Family in Karradah, a mainly Shiite district in downtown Baghdad where many Christians live. "We hope our future will be better, God willing."

Families streamed into the church's courtyard, wrapped in heavy winter jackets to protect them from the early morning chill. Young children with neatly combed hair held their parents' hand, and women stopped by the front door to pick through a basket of small lacy headscarves, placing them over their hair before walking in.

The pews were almost full - women toward the back and on the right side of the church, the men on the left - and still more people streamed in. Outside, police armed with automatic rifles manned a checkpoint at the corner of the narrow street, searching every passing car for possible bombs.

Christians have often been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists in Iraq, forcing tens of thousands to flee. Many of those who stayed were isolated in neighborhoods protected by barricades and checkpoints. Less than three percent of Iraq's 26 million people are Christians - the majority of whom are Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians, with small numbers of Roman Catholics.

A coordinated bombing campaign in 2004 targeted churches in the Iraqi capital, and anti-Christian violence also flared last September after Pope Benedict XVI made comments perceived to be against Islam.

But this year, with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha coming just before Christmas, Iraq has been living through some of the most peaceful moments since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the ancient Chaldean Catholic Church and Iraq's first cardinal, celebrated Mass before about 2,000 people in the Mar Eliya Church the eastern New Baghdad neighborhood of the capital.

"Iraq is a bouquet of flowers of different colors, each color represents a religion or ethnicity but all of them have the same scent," the 80-year-old Delly told the congregation. "I'd like here to congratulate Muslims before Christians in their Eid and I wish peace and prosperity to all Iraqis in their country."

Muslim clerics - both Sunni and Shiite - also attended the service in a sign of unity.

"May Iraq be safe every year, and may our Christian brothers be safe every year," Shiite cleric Hadi al-Jazail told AP Television News outside the church. "We came to celebrate with them and to reassure them. ... This national gathering is beautiful against the sectarian fighting, and God willing from this lesson we'll all pray for peace."

William Jalal, a 39-year old father of three attending Mass at Mar Eliya, said this Christmas was clearly different.

"We didn't celebrate like this in the past two years as we were holding limited celebrations for relatives in an atmosphere filled with fear," said Jalal, a cook in one of Baghdad's social clubs. "Now we feel better as we see all these security forces in the streets to protect us."

Delly, speaking to The Associated Press at his guarded compound in western Baghdad on Christmas Eve, said fear still pervaded everyday life, despite the fall in violence.

"Everyone is still afraid to go out," he said. "Because of the car bombs, etc., and other things. Even small animals are afraid of the danger."

Bombers still attack city markets, police or army patrols and stores, and the dead bodies of tortured kidnap victims turn up almost daily along river banks or dumped on the streets.

Venturing out in large numbers late at night in Baghdad is still unthinkable, so the capital's Christians celebrated midnight Mass in the middle of the afternoon on Christmas Eve.

But in Irbil, a city in northern Iraq's much safer Kurdish autonomous region, thousands packed the Mar Yusef church at night, with people overflowing outside into the freezing mountain air.

[samthetvcat]

"Everyone is still afraid to go out," he said. "Because of the car bombs, etc., and other things. Even small animals are afraid of the danger."

How come this is the first we''re hearing of this - it''s that bad even the pets can sense it? :(

[runningralph]

Fear in varying degrees is the common theme in Islamic societies. Sudden death is at all times a strong possibility. It is well documented that animals can sense fear and threats of violencs.

[samthetvcat]

"animals can sense fear and threats of violencs."
Posted by runningralph

When I moved to the ''big city'' I did notice that the dogs were much more street-savvy and reserved . . . interesting!

[mom_o_truth]

"Iraq is a bouquet of flowers of different colors, each color represents a religion or ethnicity but all of them have the same scent," the 80-year-old Delly told the congregation. "I''d like here to congratulate Muslims before Christians in their Eid and I wish peace and prosperity to all Iraqis in their country."

Muslim clerics - both Sunni and Shiite - also attended the service in a sign of unity.

May Jesus open your heart and show you the way to RESPECT OTHER CULTURES, races and religions before dropping bombs in the name of the NEW WORLD ORDER 1991. If Saddam was not there, then those Christians would have vanished, just like Mubarak is protecting the 10 percent Christian Egyptians in Egypt for the past 30 years. Saddam ruled with an iron fist to prevent this current Chaos in Iraq in the name of freedom.

[differnet]

When people like O''Reilly try to say that there is a war against Christmas here in the USA, I would like to point out that there are Christians around the world who truly suffer for their faith. As a practicing Christian, I do not feel any struggle to live my faith here in the USA - outside of trying to resist the rampant materialism and selfishness. This is what it means to hold to your faith in times of real struggle.

If you truly are interested in helping these people, I suggest looking up a particular church. For instance contributions for St. George''s Memorial Church in Baghdad can be made here:

St. George%u2019s Baghdad Relief Fund
c/o St. John''s Episcopal Church
Lafayette Square
1525 H Street, NW
Washington DC 20005,
[phone]
E-Mail: [e-mail]

Please make check payable to:
St. John%u2019s Church
(Memo: St. George%u2019s Baghdad Relief)

But googling the other churches in this article will surely turn up sister churches where you can make a donation.

[runningralph]

Mom_O_Truth,
What is this NEW WORLD ORDER1991 that you mention? That''s a new one on me.

[iceman_1960]

Bump.

(Apparently necessary to see posts)

[iceman_1960]

"NEW WORLD ORDER 1991."

If I may...

The one proclaimed by George H. W. Bush (actually in a speech on the ominous date 9/11/1990) in his address "Toward a New World Order"(*), given to a joint session of Congress.

The 1991 distinguishes it from Woodrow Wilson"s use of the phrase earlier.(**)

(*) Full text of the Elder Bush"s address:

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Toward_a_New_World_Order

(**) Woodrow Wilson"s use of the phrase:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_world_order#Historical_usage

[mh4cbs1]

Merry Christmas! Let''s not forget the teachings of Jesus on this holy day.

For Jesus taught us to Do ''shock and awe'' with death and destruction unto others, before they might strike us, or maybe plan to strike us.

Let us rejoice our fear hatred and revenge, for it gives us the power of pride.

Let God give us the Wisdom to spend our hundreds of billions of dollars on cost-effective weapons, rather than squander it on lesser causes like poverty, infrastructure, health or education.

God Bless America, and to hell with the rest of the world or anyone else who gets in the way of our "interests".

And finally, Merry Christmas to Haliburton, Blackwater and the War Industry. Your $686 Billion is yours to spend in 2008. Have fun.

[ontheleft]

The United States government in collusion with the Iraqi ''government'' has been doing an excellent propaganda job since September in making the ''surge'' sound like a resounding success.

You barely hear about U.S. soldiers dying anymore. They''re still dying, it''s just that the government is doing an excellent job at controlling the information.

The bottom line is that the Iraqi puppet government is dysfunctional. They are no closer to resolving their problems than they were when the ''surge'' started. You''ll notice this glaring fact is not being reported on at all.

Where is the progress in getting our troops out of there? There has been no progress.

[tylenol6]

Sounds like the government bought and paid for news media is certainly hiding what is really going on. DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is why we need RON PAUL
to get us out of Iraq.

[harrydoghiny]

Forget democracy, let''s tell ''em we''re spreading Christianity! Yeah, that''s the ticket!

[mh4cbs1]

Merry Christmas,

Kill Kill, Shock and Awe, Death and Destruction

God Bless our Empire

May the Oil Begin to Flow from Iraq to feed our Hungry Hummers

Merry Christmans to Haliburton, Blackwater and the War Industry. You will get a little present of $686 Billion to spend in 2008.

[alanrobisch]

Where is the progress in getting our troops out of there? There has been no progress.

Posted by ontheleft at 02:40 PM : Dec 25, 2007
+ report abuse

You mean all the reports the virtually sank the bush administration were true but now that we see a glimpse of hope its false. cut me a break. What is good news for you more people dying. You accepted the reports when many more were dying but now its suddenly a well managed media that is reporting that things are getting better. do you have legitimate sources proving otherwise. I have seen critics of the war from the NYT to John Murtha that indicate that things are getting better. Why isn''t this good news and how can you on one hand accept the bad news about Iraq as factual but refuse to accept good news when it comes. I call it hypocrisy and having an agenda that is no longer supported as well by the facts and shock to me and and most we may suceed. Heaven help you if the man you hate bush actually by staying the course succeeds in bringing a peaceful ending to the Iraqi war

[abdoul_pasha]

Goodevening!

[alanrobisch]

Merry Christmans to Haliburton, Blackwater and the War Industry. You will get a little present of $686 Billion to spend in 2008.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by mh4cbs1 at 05:10 PM : Dec 25, 2007

I guess people such as yourself have a one track mind even at christmas. To me its a story of the endurance of faith in god and Christ. To you just another excuse to post a nasty message

[alanrobisch]

Good evening Abdoul. I''m alone on christmas and my wife is in rehab from a nearly fatal illness. Its lonely but i post here to spend some time. Whats your opinion on the posts

[alanrobisch]

Yes the surge is working now why doesn''''t someone tell the small animals that it''''s safe outside. I am sure they would believe bushit if he would only tell them.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by zolefart at 05:41 PM : Dec 25, 2007
+ report abuse

please make a point not just a flame and does the last part of your name describe the quality of your opinoins

[ontheleft]

alanrobisch2, you missed my point. The ''surge'' was supposed to give the Iraqi government the peace it ''needed'' to reconcile the differences between the different factions. Now that there''s ''relative'' peace, there has been no progress on the part of the Iraqi government. Read up on that, it just might open your eyes because the mainstream media is not reporting it. We''re no closer to getting out of there than we were 6 months ago. And yes, it is obvious to me that we are being fed propaganda.

[abdoul_pasha]

What presents did you receive?

[abdoul_pasha]

Today a Christian friend from my homeplace in Palestine invited me to dinner

[alanrobisch]

We''''re no closer to getting out of there than we were 6 months ago. And yes, it is obvious to me that we are being fed propaganda.


Posted by ontheleft at 05:54 PM : Dec 25, 2007

I guess the pictures of people attending church is propaganda and the nyt announcing improvement in Iraq is propaganda. I am well aware that the political part of the equation is not solved but their are pressures to create a new government and work going ahead to let baathists back into the govt.

Why are you so sure this is propaganda. Is any good news propaganda. Is the information you got from NBC CBS or the NYT which showed horrible situation in Iraq suddendly just passing on propaganda when previously the bad news they reported was accurate. You are using a double standard to judge the news.

I read in the Philadelphia Inquirer an article in their oped page stating things are significantly more peaceful and the hope is this will give a chance for political solution. The writer has consistently criticized bush administration policy

[jowand]

To TheGateway1,
you can Cheerlead and Apoligize for Bushco all you want, but the facts remain, this is an ILLEGAL War and Occupation, Unconstitutional, and in Violation of International and American Law and Treaty, mounted against people who NEVER attacked us, using Lies, in order to Mass Murder ANYONE getting in our way, and steal their oil. That there are still morons like

VETERAN 71

Quit lying and go get some help.

[j-whitman]

verifyuser,,,, Well, shouldn''t that tell you something about Bush''s so-called war on evil ??? Or the evils of Islam ??? ---- Bush lied & you believed it

[libsluvsuvs]

Posted by Nancy_Naive at 10:45 PM : Dec 25, 2007
+ report abuse


******************

here is a take on things..you can be the supreme commander of this planet..

[libsluvsuvs]

here is a take on things..you can be the supreme commander of this planet..


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by libsluvsuvs at 11:26 PM : Dec 25, 2007
+ report abuse

*********************

yet the VIOLENCE WILL CONTINUE....

[bennyblack1]

A good think is happening in Iraq, and that is that Christians previously under oppression are defying the terrorist regime by choosing to freely worship Jesus Christ in the face of terror. There might be hope for a free Iraq after all if people continue to wake up like this. There might be hope, it may be true that after years of oppression and brainwashing under a terrorist ruler in fear, that after only 6 years, it could be undone. I''ve got my fingers crossed. May there be peace in Iraq.

[bennyblack1]

And an end to all the horrors they have experienced.

[bennyblack1]

I''ve got my fingers crossed!

[skyk-2009]

There might be hope, it may be true that after years of oppression and brainwashing under a terrorist ruler in fear, that after only 6 years, it could be undone. I''''ve got my fingers crossed. May there be peace in Iraq.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by bennyblack1 at 01:57 AM : Dec 26, 2007
+ report abuse

The TRUTH is that the Oppression and the like came WITH us and wasn''t there BEFORE us according to the Christian''s in that part of the Country. We allowed the Radical Religious Gangs loose.

[watcher269-2009]

Why is this a story when THIS Should be the story

The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world''s largest computer database of peoples'' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.


Yet another incursion into the realm of our civil liberties. We have been slowly destroying our privacy for seven years. In that time have you grown to feel safer? It has stopped terrorists is the argument for what is being done. Really? Stop for a minute and think: If you and three friends were determined to create a terrorist event, do you seriously believe you couldn''t pull it off? Think carefully about that before answering. Particularly if you were willing to die in the process? We have not had a terrorist event for the past seven years, because the people who commit such acts have not found it in their interest to do so. That''s a reality that is politically inconvenient to talk about

[realpatriot1]

TheGateway/Singinrick,

Your hate speech against liberals is not supported by any facts.

The only service personnel charged with war crimes have been accused of murdering or raping innocent civilians.

There are bad apples in every barrel, including the U.S. service military; let''s not forget that American soldiers have also attacked other American soldiers over there. Acknowledging that fact is not an attack on the overwhelming majority of our personnel who serve honorably, bravely, and with great distinction.

Liberals are no more monolithic in their views than conservatives. Considering the fact that many of the troops who are over there sacrificing for you and me are themselves liberals, how does your smear about bad news being good news relate to them?

There are plenty of people on the left who contribute to hate and division in this country and there are conservatives like the 2 of you who do the same.

[motherhen11]

I went to church in Baghdad and all I got was this lousy burka.

[bobmarisol]

Bad news is good news to Liberals.
Good news is blatant lies to Liberals.
Kill an Insurgent; Liberals say, "oh my, we have commited a war crime."
Report on the death of a U.S. servicemamber and the Liberals cackle with glee.

Posted by TheGateway1 at 05:55 PM : Dec 25, 2007


Gateway -- unfortunately you are correct. The liberals are so invested in defeat in Iraq that it would be a disaster for them if the USA wins. They have been against the war for so long and they have been declaring that "the war is lost" (Harry Reid) for so long that they know the American people will turn on them once the people realize that the war is in fact winnable (and that we are now winning).

You know John Murtha claimed that our troops were killing innocent Iraqis in ''cold blood'' -- later on the troops he was talking about were all exonerated -- but Murtha never felt the need to apologize. He sure sounds like a patriot doesn''t he?

I''d like to see what Harry Reid and John Murtha have to say now that the troop surge has turned the war around and we are winning.

[hillaryin08]

To TheGateway1,
you can Cheerlead and Apoligize for Bushco all you want, but the facts remain, this is an ILLEGAL War and Occupation, Unconstitutional, and in Violation of International and American Law and Treaty, mounted against people who NEVER attacked us, using Lies, in order to Mass Murder ANYONE getting in our way, and steal their oil. That there are still morons like you koolaide swilling GOPervs out there, is not surprising. Our Nation has always been challenged by those wishing to empower Government over Individual Liberty in the past. They haven''''t taken over yet, and they won''''t take over in the future. Many soldiers died in WWII defending our Constitution against Criminal Fascist Nazis. You and your ilk will lose, once again, and be forced back under the rocks you slimed out from. It is my sincerest wish, to see the War Criminals Bush and Cheney, brought before a War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague, and sentenced to hang for their many and heinous crimes. That goes for all those in the Administration, Congress, or elsewhere, who aided them in their dispicable endeavors.
When they lead him away in an orange jumpsuit and ankle chains, I bet George will cry like a little girl.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by veteran71 at 07:28 PM : Dec 25, 2007


Yea, and your liberal congress just funded it again pin head!

[neoconrcrazy]

it''s good news that Christians could attend mass in Bagdad -

too bad that was practically impossible in Bethlehem.

the Christians of israel & occupied palestine are leaving in ever greater numbers -

christian churches are unable to build or renovate because israeli authorities will not deliver building licences -

zionist israelis have extended their apartheid policies also against christians, the same christian leaders who in 1948 allowed them to form their state!

zionist israel discriminates not only against muslims and christians in israel and occupied palestine, but against our world cultural heritage.

on this Christmas, as the bishop of Jerusalem waited in front of steel doors to enter Bethlehem, one can only say:

SHAME ON ISRAEL !

We in America give them their state, pay billions to support them - and they in return hound christians out of the Holy Land !

[jeffwashingd]

Um Christians weren''t oppressed under Saddam. Kurds, yes I''m sure, but not Christians. What made you assume that?

[notblue]

neoconrcrazy, just another of your ant-Israel rants, if you care to know the truth. My jewish friends have no problems with christians it''s the Muslims that KILL christians at every opportunity. Walk through any of your beloved Arab countries with a big sign that states your a christian and proud of it! You might not survive a day. Then take that same walk through Isael, it won''t be the Israelis that will be the threat it will be the kill and destroy Arab Muslims.

[realpatriot1]

Rick,

I stated that the hate speech you concurred to was not supported by the facts-that was a true statement and was in no way hateful. I don''t find that kind of talk to be helpful no matter how you slice it, which is why i apologized to you for my own.

Neither you nor I can speak for all the service; you''ve tried to, I haven''t. I have noted that there''s a diversity of opinion in the military which tends to resemble that in society as a whole. Polls back me up on this, as does my own personal experience.

When you spread lies to smear others that''s hate speech and I was careful to not single out only your remarks in that vein.

I did read as much of your e-mail as I had time to. I appreciate the personal sentiments you expressed. If you choose to consider my apology for the lunatic comment void that''s your choice.

[neoconrcrazy]

Jerusalem''s Latin Patriarch rejects Israel''s Jewish identity

By News Agencies

Tags: Christianity, Israel

Israel''s identity as a Jewish state discriminates against non-Jews, the Holy Land''s top Roman Catholic clergyman said in a pre-Christmas address on Wednesday.

"If there''s a state of one religion, other religions are naturally discriminated against," Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah told reporters at the annual press conference he holds in Jerusalem before the Christian holiday.

In his address, which he read in Arabic and English, Sabbah said Israel should abandon its Jewish character in favor of a political, normal state for Christians, Muslims and Jews.
Advertisement

"This land cannot be exclusive for anyone," he said.


www.harretz.com, leading israeli newpaper


why don''t you slobs ever read anything but your own rabid postings? you haven''t even a vague idea......

[taotxzen]

(CONT)

2. Myth: Iraq has been "calm" in fall of 2007 and the Iraqi public, despite some grumbling, is not eager for the US to depart. Fact: in the past 6 weeks, there have been an average of 600 attacks a month, or 20 a day, which has held steady since the beginning of November. About 600 civilians are being killed in direct political violence per month, but that number excludes deaths of soldiers and police. Across the board, Iraqis believe that their conflicts are mainly caused by the US military presence and they are eager for it to end.

1. Myth: The reduction in violence in Iraq is mostly because of the escalation in the number of US troops, or "surge."

Fact: Although violence has been reduced in Iraq, much of the reduction did not take place because of US troop activity. Guerrilla attacks in al-Anbar Province were reduced from 400 a week to 100 a week between July, 2006 and July, 2007. But there was no significant US troop escalation in al-Anbar. Likewise, attacks on British troops in Basra have declined precipitously since they were moved out to the airport away from population centers. But this change had nothing to do with US troops.

[taotxzen]

(CONT)

4. Myth: The Sunni Arab "Awakening Councils," who are on the US payroll, are reconciling with the Shiite government of PM Nuri al-Maliki even as they take on al-Qaeda remnants. Fact: In interviews with the Western press, Awakening Council tribesmen often speak of attacking the Shiites after they have polished off al-Qaeda. A major pollster working in Iraq observed,
'' Most of the recent survey results he has seen about political reconciliation, Warshaw said, are "more about [Iraqis] reconciling with the United States within their own particular territory, like in Anbar. . . . But it doesn''t say anything about how Sunni groups feel about Shiite groups in Baghdad." Warshaw added: "In Iraq, I just don''t hear statements that come from any of the Sunni, Shiite or Kurdish groups that say ''We recognize that we need to share power with the others, that we can''t truly dominate.'' " '' ''
The polling shows that "the Iraqi government has still made no significant progress toward its fundamental goal of national reconciliation."

3. Myth: The Iraqi north is relatively quiet and a site of economic growth. Fact: The subterranean battle among Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs for control of the oil-rich Kirkuk province makes the Iraqi north a political mine field. Kurdistan now also hosts the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas that sneak over the border and kill Turkish troops. The north is so unstable that the Iraqi south is now undergoing regular bombing raids from Turkey.

(CONT)

[taotxzen]

(CONT)

6. Myth: The US overthrow of the Baath regime and military occupation of Iraq has helped liberate Iraqi women. Fact: Iraqi women have suffered significant reversals of status, ability to circulate freely, and economic situation under the Bush administration.

5. Myth: Some progress has been made by the Iraqi government in meeting the "benchmarks" worked out with the Bush administration. Fact: in the words of Democratic Senator Carl Levin, "Those legislative benchmarks include approving a hydrocarbon law, approving a debaathification law, completing the work of a constitutional review committee, and holding provincial elections. Those commitments, made 1 1/2 years ago, which were to have been completed by January of 2007, have not yet been kept by the Iraqi political leaders despite the breathing space the surge has provided."

(CONT)

[taotxzen]

(CONT)

8. Myth: The US troop surge stopped the civil war that had been raging between Sunni Arabs and Shiites in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

Fact: The civil war in Baghdad escalated during the US troop escalation. Between January, 2007, and July, 2007, Baghdad went from 65% Shiite to 75% Shiite. UN polling among Iraqi refugees in Syria suggests that 78% are from Baghdad and that nearly a million refugees relocated to Syria from Iraq in 2007 alone. This data suggests that over 700,000 residents of Baghdad have fled this city of 6 million during the US ''surge,'' or more than 10 percent of the capital''s population. Among the primary effects of the ''surge'' has been to turn Baghdad into an overwhelmingly Shiite city and to displace hundreds of thousands of Iraqis from the capital.



7. Myth: Iran was supplying explosively formed projectiles (a deadly form of roadside bomb) to Salafi Jihadi (radical Sunni) guerrilla groups in Iraq. Fact: Iran has not been proved to have sent weapons to any Iraqi guerrillas at all. It certainly would not send weapons to those who have a raging hostility toward Shiites. (Iran may have supplied war materiel to its client, the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq (ISCI), which was then sold off from warehouses because of graft, going on the arms market and being bought by guerrillas and militiamen.

(CONT)

[neoconrcrazy]

My jewish friends have no problems with christians

notblue


my christian friends have no problems with jews - they just want to be able to get the building permissions to renovate their church and welcome their faithful.

have you been to israel? i have.

[taotxzen]

Top Ten Myths about Iraq 2007

%u2028%u202810. Myth: The US public no longer sees Iraq as a central issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.

In a recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll, Iraq and the economy were virtually tied among voters nationally, with nearly a quarter of voters in each case saying it was their number one issue. The economy had become more important to them than in previous months (in November only 14% said it was their most pressing concern), but Iraq still rivals it as an issue!


9. Myth: There have been steps toward religious and political reconciliation in Iraq in 2007. Fact: The government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has for the moment lost the support of the Sunni Arabs in parliament. The Sunnis in his cabinet have resigned. Even some Shiite parties have abandoned the government. Sunni Arabs, who are aware that under his government Sunnis have largely been ethnically cleansed from Baghdad, see al-Maliki as a sectarian politician uninterested in the welfare of Sunnis.

(CONT)

[neoconrcrazy]

The entire Christian faith is based in Israel. Not the west.
Posted by singinrick


not today - zionist israel is stamping out christianity - forcing thousands of christians to leave - prohibiting building of new churches and renovation of exisiting, to able to declare these churches "unsafe", then to close them.

zionist israel''s apartheid racist policies against christians is well documented, if you look beyond your fantasy world....

[hillaryin08]

taotxzen

Myth: The Democrat controlled congress will stop funding the war.

Fact: The Democrat controlled congress funded the war.

Maybe they know something you dont? Nice try lib.

[neoconrcrazy]

Senior Vatican diplomat says ties with Israel worsening

The Associated Press Published: November 16, 2007



VATICAN CITY: A senior Vatican diplomat who served as papal envoy to Israel has described Vatican-Israeli relations as worsening, blaming the Jewish state for failing to keep promises related to church land, taxes and travel restrictions on Arab clergy.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi lashed out at Israel in an interview posted Friday on Terrasanta.net, an online publication about the Holy Land.

"If I must be frank, the relations between the Catholic Church and the state of Israel were better when there were no diplomatic ties," said Sambi, interviewed earlier in the week in Washington, where he now serves as Pope Benedict XVI''s envoy to the United States.

"The Holy See decided to establish diplomatic relations (in 1993) with Israel as an act of faith, leaving to latter the serious promises to regulate concrete aspects of the life of the Catholic community and the Church" in Israel, Sambi said.

Among the issues hanging are the status of expropriated church property, services that Catholic groups perform for Israel''s Jewish and Arab population, and tax exemptions for the Church."


ISRAEL DICRIMINATES AGAINST CHRISTIANS (the same ones who send them billions of $$$$)

[realpatriot1]

Rick,

I didn''t say you lied I said you concurred with a lie(a smear not supported by any fact0- that was a true statement supported by your statement. I''m not lying.

The military is and has always been neither conservative or liberal and the very meaning of these two terms has changed so much since the founding of the country that your claims seem meaningless to me. Again, I don''t see any factual support for the claims.

I''m done with this. Say whatever you want.