The United States Should Admit It No Longer Has a Middle East Policy Stephen W. Malt, Foreign Policy 29 January 2016   If the current — and future — U.S. administration wants to battle the Islamic State, save Syria, and keep ties with Israel, it’s got to ditch the Cold War playbook. Do you know what the United States should do in the Middle East? The answer to that question used to be pretty obvious, but not anymore. For most of the past

Mideast Christians Deserve U.S. Refuge: Hunted by ISIS, afraid to enter refugee camps, they are undercounted and desperate for help. By Abraham Cooper and Yitzchok Adlerstein, Wall Street Journal 17 December 2015 ENLARGE Iraqi Christians who fled Islamic State militants arriving at a camp church in Arbil, in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Nov. 8. COPYRIGHT 2015 PHOTO: SAFIN HAMED/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES Donald Trump’s

UNITED NATIONS: END SLAVERY IN CONFLICT Walk Free   Copyright 2015 Walkfree.org   UPDATE: The UN Security Council has said slavery during conflict may be a war crime, calling on the Secretary-General to report back on better implementing programs to counter trafficking in Iraq by ISIS.1 Over three thousand women and girls have been forced into sexual slavery by ISIS during the conflict in Iraq and Syria.2 But the horror doesn’t end there

U.N. Reports Nearly 19,000 Iraqi Civilian Deaths in 22 Months Nick Cumming-Bruce, The New York Times 19 January 2016 GENEVA — Nearly 19,000 Iraqi civilians have died and more than three million have fled their homes over a 22-month period marked by a “staggering” level of violence, the United Nations said on Tuesday, in a report that starkly demonstrated why huge numbers of Iraqis were seeking refuge in Europe. Fighting between the Islamic

Teachers in Iraq Arrested for Refusing to Teach Doctrine of Death By Ruth Gledhill, Christian Today 8 January 2016 An Iraqi Christian boy fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul stands inside the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chaldean Church in Telkaif near Mosul, in Nineveh in 2014. All churches are now believed to be destroyed. Copyright 2016 Reuters An Iraqi Christian boy fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul stands inside

ISIS Extends Recruitment Efforts to China With New Chant Edward Wong and Adam Wu, New York Times 8 December 2015 Featured Image: Islamic State fighters in the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, near the border with Turkey. There is no reliable information on how many Chinese have joined the Islamic State or other armed groups in Syria. Copyright 2015 Reuters BEIJING — The Islamic State has been recruiting far and wide for members to join its ranks on the

Testimony presented to the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and International Organizations of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 9 December 2015 Weak Words Are Not Enough Statement of Professor Gregory H. Stanton President, Genocide Watch Research Professor, George Mason University   Members of Congress, it is an honor to testify before this committee about the crimes of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is

Iraqi Christians Face Extinction: an interview with Joseph T. Kassab Jerry Gordon, New English Review 2 November 2015    Image: Map of Iraqi Christian area of Nineveh Plains One of the oldest Christian minorities in the Middle East is in danger of extinction: the Assyrian Chaldeans in Northern Iraq and adjacent Syria. They are descendants of ancient Babylonians and Assyrians who were converted to Christianity in the First Century by disciples

Another Synod of Bishops Demands Attention – especially from US Catholics John L. Allen Jr., Crux 26 October 2015   Image: Christian children prayed during Mass at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Ankawa, Irbil, in northern Iraq last December. The Christians were expelled from their homes in August, 2014 when the Islamic State group militants attacked their villages in the Nineveh Province. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen) During the past month, the 2015

As their Power Grows, Iraq's Kurds are Fighting among Themselves Loveday Morris, The Washington Post 12 October 2015   Image: Protesters clash with riot police in Sulaymaniyah, the second-largest city in Iraq's Kurdistan region, last week. The region is facing its worst unrest in years amid economic woes and a political standoff. (Reuters) BAGHDAD — In recent months, Iraq’s northern Kurdish region has seen unprecedented political and economic