Iraqi Christians Face Uncertain Future As U.S. Troop Presence Recedes
President Obama spoke to the nation about the end of formal combat operations in Iraq on Monday. It is clear the U.S. role in the country is changing.
Among that change, though, remains the cloudy fate of Christians in the country, tens of thousands whom fled seven years of wars and fear of reprisals and recriminations for their faith.
Overturning the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein in order to put democracy in its place did not work, Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad said.
“Democracy needs to be taught, it needs to be planted, not imported,” he said. He compared life in Iraq under Saddam as like living “in a huge jail”.
“And what happens when a prison is suddenly thrown open?” he asked.
Tags: Barack Obama, Christian minority, Iraqi Christians, Operation Iraqi Freedom, persecution, Iraq