Posted on 01/10/2017 3:59:55 PM PST by Texas Fossil
The Christian town of Qaraqosh, Iraq, located on the Nineveh Plain, is in ruins. It is far worse than its appearance, which is bad enough. Other than a handful of volunteers to clean up the streets, and the 300 or so members of the Nineveh Protection Unit, or NPU, the town is deserted.
The Christian town has enemies other than the ruthless Islamic State, or ISIS, which left it in ruins. Currently the Kurdish militia, the Peshmerga, is blocking aid to the NPU that guards the town, because the NPU is the Assyrian Christian militia. It is the only armed Christian group in Iraq.
The Kurds and some Shia have territorial claims on the Nineveh Plain. While for appearance and funding from Washington, the Kurdish support Christian interests for now, the historical relationship between the two groups includes participation in the slaughter of Christians by the tens of thousands. There is no room for a Christian enclave, particularly one that is armed, in the future of an independent state of Kurdistan, which the Kurds are foolish enough to believe that Washington will support.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
The source of denying weapons to the Christian Militia is not the Kurds. It is certain Leadership within the Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and their stealth association with Hezbollah in name of fighting ISIS.
see: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/01/pmf-deputy-commander-muhandis-details-hezbollah-ops-in-iraq.php
The Kurds in Iraq has had a long history of protecting the Christians. Iran of course has not.
I've read that Prime Minister Maliki was not aware of the involvement of Hezbollah until after the fact.
Over the years I respected Joseph Farah and WND for perspective on Lebanon and Iraq. In this case, I believe he missed the real issue.
The article is excerpted, please read the entire article for better understanding.
Thanks for posting that. I was pretty shocked since everyone who has been over there say the Kurds have always protected the Christians ( even some of the Iraqi muslims protect Christians, or at least they used to). Saddam, may his soul rot in hell, protected the Christians
“The Kurds in Iraq has had a long history of protecting the Christians. Iran of course has not.”
Wrong. The Sunni Kurdsvwere historically (as late as the 1930’s) the principal enemies of Christians in the region (Assyrians and Armenians).
Sunni Kurdish tribesmen during WW1 were the prinicipal henchmen in the genocide of Armenians and Assyrians (Kurdish organizations acknowledge that they were used by Ottoman Turks for this nefarious purpose).
After WW1 it was Armenian and Assyrian militia in the Iraq, Turkey and Iran area that massacred many Kurds. At the same time... well into the 1920s the Kurdish forces of Simko massacred thousands of Christians, until Simko was killed by Iranian forces (Iran’s army had elite units of Assyrian and Armenian Christians!).
1936 the Kurds (along with Sunni Arabs) in Iraq massacred again numerous Assyrians in Simele, Iraq.
To this day there is much bad blood between Kurds and Assyrians.
Their common foe now (since Saddam actually) are Sunni Arabs... currently in shape of ISIS.
The Kurdish regional government in Iraq doedn’t want several ethno-religious militia (such as Christoan, Yazidi), instead they want to place them all within the Peshmerga framework for pragmatic and political reasons.
As to Iran... why the “of course”?
Modern Iran (both before and after the Revolution) has a much better relationship with local Christians. There is a long record of Assyrian and Armenian Christians serving with distinction in Iranian armed forces both before and after the Revolution. The only (rather minor) friction was in the 1940’s due to pro-Soviet agitation among Armenians and Assyrians). Today Iran and Armenia and Iran enjoy very good relations. What the Islamic Republic Iran persecutes are Muslims who convert to Christianity... that’s a different matter than relations with the Christian ethnic groups.
When looking at the 20th Century, Kurdish-Christian relations have been MUCH more strained and bloody than the largely benign Iran-Christian relations.
“Saddam, may his soul rot in hell, protected the Christians”
Not quite so simple. While his Baathist movement allowed Christians into it’s ranks, he still pursued a policy of Sunni Arab suprematism. Christians just like Sunni Kurds and Shia Turkomen suffered greatly from Saddam’s Arabization of the Mossul and Niniveh area. Assyrians were also slaughtered in the genocidal anti-Kurdish Anfal campaign.
(P.S. Excuse the typos in the posts above... thick fingers on tiny screen.)
Addition to post #3:
The Iraqi Kurdish rebellion against the British in the 1920’s was surpressed by the British-led Assyrian Christian “Iraq Levies” force. Both sides were utterly ruthless. The 1936 Simele massacre of Assyrians by Iraqi Kurds and Arabs was also seen by the latter as “revenge” for the pro-British attitude of the Assyrians and their role in crushing the rebellions of the 1920’s.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simele_massacre
>> The source of denying weapons to the Christian Militia is not the Kurds
An important clarification.
The KRG Kurds are wary about an Assyrian independence/authonomy movement ouside the KRG framework... as it affects important areas that the KRG wants for Kurdistan.
The protective role the KRG has assumed through sheltering Christian refugees and caring for Churches etc. is also to win Christian support for the notion that under Kurdish rule the Christians are safe. But they have to convince the Assyrians to overcome the bloody historical experience between Kurds and Christians. Also the KRG wants to dispel any notion of independent Assyrian movement.
For this reason (along with pragmatic concerns) the Kurdish Regional Government prefers all minorities to serve within the Peshmerga and is critical of ethnic-religious militia on their own.
There also have been direct clashes between Christians and Kurds in Syria:
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/01/13/kurds-attack-assyrian-christian-village-in-northern-syria/
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/04/25/christian-assyrian-clash-kurds-syria/
Good post. You have it right. About the Kurds protecting anything but their own self-interest and keeping a subservient dhimmi class in anyone else. The history for example of Assyrian christian persecution is a long one:
http://www.aina.org/martyr.html
One excerpt from this history:
“1743-1790 A.D.
A kurdish force under the leadership of Tahmaz Nadr Shah attacks of the Christians in the region. Many monks were murdered and monasteries damaged such as the famous Assyrian Dair Mar Behnam (located 4 miles away from the ancient city Nimrod), Dair Mar Elia, Dair Mar Oraha, and Dair Mar Mikhael (all are a few miles from the ancient Nineveh). (F.. John Feye, Assyrien Christien, Part 2, P. 591)”
They did protect the Christians.
The difference not is the Leaders in Iraq, Not the Kurds themselves.
I think WND got bad info on part of this. I have a Kurd friend in Syria who told me about corruption in the Iraq Government behind this. Influenced by Iran. I don’t need to tell you how Iran treats Christians.
See my posts above.
You seem to think (or pretend) that there is ongoing or long-standing severe persecution of Christians in Iran, while whitewashing the persecution (or conflict) of Christians vy Kurds.
To sum it up: the mullahs in Iran persecute Muslims converting to Christianity and missiobary activity among Muslims.
Iran does not persecute Assyrian or Armenian Christians. They are recognized, protected sizeable minorities and have parliamentary representation. Armenia-Iran relations especially are quite good and far reaching.
Kurdish recognition of the Armenian genocide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_recognition_of_the_Armenian_genocide
Kurdish recognition of the Armenian Genocide and Assyrian Genocide is the recognition by the Kurds of their participation in the genocide of Armenians and Assyrians during World War I when Kurds, along with Turks and Muslim groups from various Caucasian tribes, attacked and killed innocent Armenian and Assyrian civilians and refugees. Throughout the Kurdish-populated regions, some Kurds participated in the genocide of the Armenians while other Kurds opposed the genocide, in some cases even hiding or adopting Armenian refugees.[1] Kurds in prison were given amnesty and released from prison if they would massacre the Armenians.[2]
—
NOTE: to this day, Turkey denies their direction of the Armenian Genocide. And they practice much the same treatment on the Kurds.
Also Note: Not all Kurds are the same. There are distinct differences between Kurds in Turkey, Kurds in Iran, Kurds in Iraq and Kurds in Syria. Not only by nation but by tribal groups it varies. The practice a form of communalism. They bring government to the local level and each area can vary somewhat. Depending on the country they inhabit.
Kurds are not all Muslim (this is an issue for Turkey). The percentage of Christian, Yazidi, Zoroastrian varies a lot from country to country and region to region. There are pockets of high concentration of Christian belief within the Kurdish areas. Most are careful who they express that belief to.
It is a fact that Kurds and Armenians have a good relationship today.
“the mullahs in Iran persecute Muslims converting to Christianity”
Yes, they kill them.
Also in Syria the Christian self-defense militia (GPF and Sootoro) are aligned with Assad - supported by Iran and Hezbollah, while they have clashed with the Kurds.
http://m.clarionproject.org/analysis/assyrian-christians-battle-kurds-syria-exclusive-interview
I am well aware of Kurdish and Iranian diversity, history and politics.
You however seem to ignore the dark spots in Kurdish history and current politics while trying to set up Iran as a bigger bogeyman than facts allow for.
The persecution of Christian converts is bad, but has little to do with the treatment of Assyrian and Armenian Christian ethnic minorities in Iran. To mingle these issues is not vma valid argument.
I don’t accuse you of an agenda, but I will note that there is an ongoing attempt by Israel and neocons in the US to win over the Kurds and the regime in Azerbaijan as tools against Iran.
Therefore the Kurds are overly glamorized and romanticized in certain media.
Iran meanwhile is Armenia’s chief ally along with Russia against Israel/Turkey-supported Azerbaijan.
I generally accept the clarion project reports as accurate.
But in this case I do not believe the Iranian Christians are engaged in battle with the Kurdish YPG in Nineveh.
It is true that Iran, Hezbollah and other’s I’d call simply terrorists are aligned with Assad. There is a huge difference between Iran run by the Mullahs and Syria run by Assad.
P.S.:
Nontheless the relations between Iran and the KRG Kurds are quite good and pragmatic. Actually Iran is doing a balancing act in Iraq between the Kurds (as you surely know an Iranic people) and the Shia Iraqis (with whom they share the Shia creed).
It’s less the Kurds that are causing concern for Iran, but rather the Israeli attempt to instrumentalize the Kurds against Iran.
Ah... those aligned with Assad are “terrorists”... and you don’t trust reports by Christians if they go against the simplicistic pro-Kurdish narrative you adhere to.
Gotcha.
I watched and cheered during the #IranElection phase on Twitter. The brave young people almost pulled it off. They exposed the stolen election and it looked like they would prevail. Until the foreign techs came in and used technology to hunt them down. Many were imprisoned and a large number were killed.
I admire Persians. Have know a number of them. Here in the Us most of them don't choose to be described as Iranian.
In my opinion:
Totalitarianism in all forms is evil. Progressive Socialist Marxist Fascist Communist Dictator Islamist Bureaucrat. Freedom works.
I assume you are in the US and represent Iran in some fashion here.
The conviction of the Mullahs to destroy Israel at any cost is absolutely sickening. Such hate. It's the reason for their obsession with obtaining Nukes. And Obama & Kerry have done all they can to accomidate that desire.
The division between Shia & Sunni are currently being blurred in Iraq. By stealth with commanders. Not with the will of the people (a foreign concept in Iran).
“simplicistic pro-Kurdish narrative”
No. It’s not simple. Kurds are not all the same. Nor are Iranians. They certainly are not all fans of the rule of the Mullahs.
Right now in the name of destroying ISIS, Iran & Turkey are both in Iraq & Syria. FACT.
Soon ISIS will be defeated or surrender to those 2. Neither Iran nor Turkey have any intentions of leaving Iraq or Syria.
Now who benefits? SA, Turkey, Iran, Russia.
Who looses? Parts of Syria, Parts of Iraq.
What is the consequences for others? Lots of death & misery.
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