Replies

New Petition: Transform Iraq into beacon, For centuries, the Middle East has lived in darkness without a beacon of hope. The toppling of Saddam Hussein's evil regime provides a tremendous opportunity to let the light of democracy shine.

Your help is needed to make Iraq such a beacon of hope. Sign the petition below calling on President Bush and Congress to do everything in their power to create a new Iraqi government mirroring America's democracy and Judeo-Christian laws.

That isn't going to happen without great care and effort. Many potential tyrants lurk -- former communists, terrorist leaders and war lords -- seeking their chance to seize power and follow in Saddam's footsteps. The last thing Iraq and the world need is a new boss like the old boss.

There are good people in Iraq. They are organized and have influence and ability to help Iraq become a democratic republic that could show the Middle East a better way of governing factions and resolving conflicts.

One of them, for example, is Albert Yelda, an Assyrian Christian with influence over more than 1.5 million Iraqi Christians, including Assyrians and Chaldeans. Yelda, cofounder of the Iraqi National Congress, split off from the Moslem-dominated group in 1999 to form the Iraqi National Coalition. He has been part of the Iraqi opposition since 1973, while living in Iraq.

Unfortunately, such supporters of a new secular government, one that represents all religions and factions, are at great risk. To let their names be known would put them in grave peril. They must work anonymously until conditions improve. Just know that they are pledged to replace the evil tyranny with the freedom of democracy not only to help the Iraqi people but to show the way to the Moslem world. They are worthy of our support.

The Bush administration must understand the need for a government not controlled by any one religion, like elsewhere in the Middle East. To promote and groom only Shi'ite groups, such as the "supreme council of Islamic revolution in Iraq," Iraqi communists and "ex" Baath party members to key positions in the post-Saddam government is a mistake. Members of such groups are today in Washington D.C. Pro-democracy figures of the Iraqi opposition must not be ignored.

Without a representative democracy, Iraq likely will continue as a breeding ground of Islamic terrorists, threatening not just the Iraqi people, but also the Judeo-Christian world. Act now to help the Bush administration see how a democratic Iraq would be a beacon to enlighten the entire Middle East.

Signing the petition to President Bush, will send copies to your senators, representative, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Democratic Party leaders. Help make the precious sacrifice of our troops and their families pay off with the added blessing of an Iraqi government that will help shine democracy's bright light.

Phil Sheldon
ConservativePetitions.com

Dear President George W. Bush:

(NOTE -- copies of this petition are going to my Congressmen, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert and Democratic Party leaders.)

Promoting and grooming only Shi'ite groups, Iraqi communists and "ex" Baath party members to key positions in a post-Saddam government is a mistake. Iraq likely will continue as a breeding ground of Islamic terrorists, threatening not just the Iraqi people but the Judeo-Christian world -- unless its new government is a democracy without any one religion in control.

After centuries of despotic darkness, I urge you to make Iraq's new government a beacon of hope for the Middle East. The toppling of Saddam Hussein's evil regime provides a tremendous opportunity to let the light of democracy shine.

You know from intelligence reports that many potential tyrants lurk -- former communists, terrorist leaders and war lords -- awaiting their chance to seize power and follow in Saddam's footsteps. The last thing Iraq and the world need is a new boss like the old boss.

You also know there are good people in Iraq and in exile. They are organized and have influence and ability to help Iraq become a democratic republic that could show the Middle East a better way of governing factions and resolving conflicts. One of them, for example, is Albert Yelda, an Assyrian Christian with influence over more than 1.5 million Christians.

Yelda and others who must work anonymously for security reasons are pledged to replace the evil tyranny with the freedom of democracy not only to help the Iraqi people but to show the way to the Moslem world. They are worthy of our nation's support.

I ask your administration and Congress to help make the precious sacrifice of our troops and their families pay off with the added blessing of an Iraqi government that will help shine democracy's bright light.

USATODAY.com - Ex-Iraq officers discuss ousting Saddam Albert Yelda, co-founder of the Iraqi National Coalition, said the meeting would be the largest gathering ever of exiled Iraqi officers. He said they hope to unify those in exile and still inside Iraq in "establishing a democratic regime where the Iraqis, Assyrians, Christians, Muslims, Arabs, Kurds and Turkomans can live peacefully and equally."
Professorial Pundits Place Iraq Bets No one reasonably expects professors of Middle Eastern studies to predict military outcomes. But political outcomes, especially in the long term, are supposed to be their forte. And so here, for the record, are the predictions of four chaired professors of Middle Eastern studies, at leading American universities. At the end of the day, events will prove two of them right, and two of them wrong.
Iraqi immigrants gung ho on war They danced in the aisles when Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz showed up in Dearborn to address them last month.