So we are being told that the United States launched an airstrike on Syria, a nation it invaded and is illegally occupying, because of attacks on “US locations” in Iraq, another nation the US invaded and is illegally occupying. This attack is justified on the basis that the Iraqi fighters were “Iranian-linked”, a claim that is both entirely without evidence and irrelevant to the justification of deadly military force. And this is somehow being framed in mainstream news publications as a defensive operation.
This is Defense Department stenography. The US military is an invading force in both Syria and Iraq; it is impossible for its actions in either of those countries to be defensive. It is always necessarily the aggressor. It’s the people trying to eject them who are acting defensively. The deaths of US troops and contractors in those countries can only be blamed on the powerful people who sent them there.
The US is just taking it as a given that it has de facto jurisdiction over the nations of Syria, Iraq, and Iran, and that any attempt to interfere in its authority in the region is an unprovoked attack which must be defended against. This is completely backwards and illegitimate. Only through the most perversely warped American supremacist reality tunnels can it look valid to dictate the affairs of sovereign nations on the other side of the planet and respond with violence if anyone in those nations tries to eject them.
With a deadly missile strike against an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia position on the Syria-Iraq border Friday, the Biden administration has spelled out in blood the real meaning of the Democratic president’s incessant declarations that “America is back.”
The attack, executed in blatant violation of international law and with no legal authorization from the US Congress, signals that the Biden White House is embarking upon a highly aggressive American foreign policy, escalating the militarism and confrontations pursued by its predecessor, in the Middle East and internationally.
According to Syrian medical sources quoted by Reuters, the US air raid, carried out at dawn on Friday, killed at least 17 Iraqi militiamen. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the strike had killed 22 fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, an official arm of Iraq’s military, which was sent into Syria to combat ISIS. More fighters were wounded, and the death toll is likely to rise.
Ostensibly, the missile strike was in retaliation for a February 15 rocket attack on a US base in Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital Erbil that killed a single Syrian contractor. There is no evidence that the attack on the US base was the work of the Iranian-backed militia that the US struck on Friday, which had not only denied responsibility, but denounced the attack on the Erbil base.
Pentagon officials indicated that President Joe Biden was given a menu of targets and levels of US military destruction to choose from and signed off on the Syria missile strike.
Asked on Friday what “message” Biden was sending with the strike, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told MSNBC television news, “The message is clear and unambiguous; we’re going to protect our national interests in the region.”
If you voted for the Dems, then
This act of international aggression, and all those which will now follow, are on YOU!
Yes, you. There is simply *no way* that you could argue that “oh I did not know” or “but, but, Biden promised to be a good president“. Sorry, because for the past 4 years thousands of us have been trying to warn you, to explain to you in detail what would happen if the Neocons fully took control of the USA. We predicted it all, we gave you all the evidence, but you refused to listen. Now it is too late.
And while it is true that Biden did steal the election, those who truly and legally voted for him now bear the moral responsibility for this crime and all the future crime of the Biden Administration.
Only those who did not vote for the Dems can still say “not in my name”.
All others are now accomplices (before, during and after the fact) to the crime of aggression. They are also to blame for the internal chaos which will result from having a the first “Woke Administration”.
All the innocent blood is on you, Biden voter.
Syria condemned in
the strongest terms the US attack in eastern
Syria that killed at least 17 people yesterday,
stressing it demonstrates the aggressive
policies by the new American administration.
Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a
statement that “In a flagrant violation of the
rules of international law and Charter of the
United Nations, the US warplanes on Thursday,
February 25, 2021, launched a cowardly
aggression by bombing some areas in Deir Ezzor
province near the Syrian-Iraqi borders.
Foreign Ministry stated that this blatant
aggression is a new chain in the series of
repeated attacks by the Israeli occupation
forces, the so-called “international coalition,”
the Turkish occupation, and the crimes of armed
terrorist organizations against the sovereignty
of the Syrian Arab Republic under illusive
pretexts.
” The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the
strongest terms the US aggression against its
sovereignty, which contradicts with the terms of
international law and the United Nations Charter
and with its role as a permanent member of the
Security Council,” the statement said.
Voices from around the world condemned this act of war, recognizing the clear continuity of U.S. aggression between the Trump and Biden administrations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov remarked that the strike against his country’s long-time ally Syria was conducted with just “four or five minutes” of warning from the U.S. government to Moscow. At the invitation of the Syrian government Russia maintains a military presence inside the country to assist in the war against religious fundamentalist armed groups. If the United States had accidentally killed Russian soldiers, the world would have been plunged into a new crisis.
For all the talk about Iran, not much is being made in the major U.S. media about the fact that this attack was conducted on Syrian soil. The United States is not at war with Syria and has not been invited into Syria, but regardless has established permanent occupation bases there on the pretext of fighting ISIS. The Syrian Foreign Ministry stated it “strongly condemns the cowardly American aggression” and that “it is a bad sign regarding the policies of the new U.S. administration, which should adhere to international [law].”
Even members of Biden’s own Democratic Party admitted that the administration was in violation of domestic law. “Congress should … require clear legal justifications for military action, especially inside theaters like Syria, where Congress has not explicitly authorized any American military action,” according to Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democratic Senator, pointed out the unconstitutional nature of Biden conducting “offensive military action without congressional approval.” Representative Ro Khanna of California reminded the public in his condemnation of the deadly airstrike that Biden is now the fifth consecutive president to order strikes in the Middle East.
If Congress is serious about their opposition to this type of military action, they should refuse to write the checks that keep the war machine running. The U.S. military budget, passed almost unanimously every year, is higher than ever and more dangerous to ordinary people around the world each day. Meanwhile people freeze to death in foreseeable winter storms or die by the tens of thousands of a preventable viral infection here in the United States.
For immediate release
Contacts:
Ajamu Baraka – Black Alliance for Peace, 202-643-1136.
Margaret Flowers – Popular Resistance, info@PopularResistance.org, 410-591-0892.
Photo: Click here for photos by Professor Danny Shaw who is currently in Haiti.
Nearly 800 Organizations and Individuals in the United States Demand the Biden Administration End Its Support for the Brutal Moïse Regime in Haiti.
United States - Today, February 24, 72 organizations and 700 individuals published an open letter calling for the Biden administration to end its illegal and destructive intervention in Haiti. While Joe Biden and the Democrats condemned the Trump forces for not respecting the results of the U.S. election, they are supporting Jovenel Moïse’s refusal to leave office after his term as president ended on February 7, 2021. Moïse has unleashed violent gangs, the police and the military against protesters who are demanding that he respect the Constitution and step down.
“President Biden claims to care about racial equity but his actions in Haiti show the emptiness of that rhetoric,” said Ajamu Baraka of the Black Alliance for Peace. “For centuries now, the United States has employed force to dominate Haiti, the first Black Republic that was established in 1804 after the defeat of French and Spanish colonizers. President Biden has an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to democracy and Black self-determination by ending support for the Moïse regime and denouncing the current violence.”
The past two presidents of Haiti, Michel Martelly and Jovenel Moïse, were hand-picked and forced into office by the United States during the Obama administration against the will of the Haitian people. Moïse is currently ruling by decree after dismissing most of the legislators and refusing to hold elections. With the backing of the Core Group, composed of the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, the European Union and the United Nations, Moïse is trying to push a new constitution through using a referendum in April. The new constitution being written by members of the Core Group and without any real participation of the Haitian people would grant greater power to the executive office.
Since February 7, the rogue Moïse government has launched a brutal crackdown on all dissent resulting in home invasions, arrests, the firing of Supreme Court judges and a police inspector general, attacks on the media and the use of chemical agents and live ammunition to disperse protests, as documented by the U. S. Human Rights Clinics.
"The current situation in Haiti is critical," stated Marleine Bastien, the Executive Director of FANM In Action and a leading voice in South Florida's Haitian community. "The Superior Council of Haiti's Judiciary, The Haitian Bar Federation, and credible civil society organizations inside Haiti and their diaspora allies agree that President Moise’s term has in fact ended. It is time for President Biden to keep his promise and respect the democratic rights and self-determination of the Haitian people."
Here is the open letter:
On February 7, 2021, Jovenel Moïse’s term as president of Haiti ended - but with the support of the Biden administration he is refusing to leave office. This has created an urgent crisis in the country. A mass movement, reminiscent of the 1986 popular movement that overthrew the brutal U.S.-sponsored dictatorship of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, is demanding Moïse step down. We are alarmed by the abundance of evidence of severe human rights violations by the Moïse regime to quell the protests.
One of the main calls from the mobilizations of hundreds of thousands in the streets of Port-au-Prince and across Haiti has been for the United States, United Nations and the Organization of American States to stop their interference. These bodies, as part of the “Core Group” of imperialist nations and institutions targeting Haiti, are currently pushing their rewrite of the Haitian Constitution through a referendum on April 25.
These organizations have a long history of neocolonial intervention in Haiti and the region. Ever since the democratically elected president Jean Bertrand Aristide was overthrown for a second time by a U.S.-sponsored coup in 2004, Haiti has been occupied by a United Nations force that, at its height, deployed 14,000 troops and personnel. This occupation has changed form over the years (from MINUSTAH to BINUH), but it is ongoing.
The U.S. government has consistently stood as a barrier to popular democracy in the Americas. The 2009 coup in Honduras; the 2019 coup in Bolivia; and the ongoing blockades of Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela are but several examples of the U.S.’s poor record on human rights and lack of respect for sovereignty in the region. By its own admission, the State Department “works closely with the OAS, UN, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and individual countries to advance its policy goals in Haiti.” Under the guise of fighting drug trafficking, the U.S. continues to train and fund the Haitian National Police.
The U.S. establishment spin doctors seemingly live in an alternate universe, claiming, "The remarkable lack of popular response to calls for mass protests in recent weeks indicates that Haitian people are tired of endless lockdowns and squabbling over power." The reality is quite the opposite: the Haitian people are united in their call for a peaceful transition to democracy.
We express our solidarity with the Haitian people and our support for their rights to democracy and self-determination. We join our voices to the demands of the Haitian people who are calling for the following:
We demand that Jovenel Moïse
Immediately step down.
We demand that the Biden Administration:
Withdraw financial support for the illegal constitutional referendum and Moïse dictatorship;
Respect the will of the vast majority of the people demanding democracy and Haitian self-determination
Reaffirm support for the right to peaceful protest;
Immediately cease all U.S. financial and military support to Haiti's security forces
Condemn the recent violence against protesters and journalists; and
Demand the immediate dismantlement of all paramilitary forces in Haiti and the disarmament of gangs carrying out wanton violence against the popular movement.
The whole world is watching!
Signatories
Organizations:
Black Alliance for Peace
Popular Resistance
Alliance for Global Justice
Anticonquista
Black Alliance for Peace Solidarity Network
CODEPINK
Council on Hemispheric Affairs
International Action Center
National Lawyers Guild
United National Antiwar Coalition
US Peace Council
Veterans For Peace
World Beyond War
Acción Afro-Dominicana
Agenda Solidaridad, Repùblica Dominicana
Australia Solidarity with Latin America
Baltimore Peace Action
Big Apple Coffee Party
Chicago ALBA Solidarity
Coalición de Derechos Humanos
coasap
Diáspora en Acción
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker
Ekta Collective
Environmentalists Against War
Forum of Sao Paulo DC/MD/VA
Friends of Latin America
FURIE - Feminist Uprising to Resist Inequality and Exploitation
Global Coalition for Peace
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Hilton Head for Peace
International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity
Latin America Solidarity Coalition of Western Massachusetts
LynneStewart.org
Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center
MLK Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Micronesian Political Journal
Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights
New Abolitionist Movement
#NJAntiWarAgenda
NJ State Industrial Union Council
New Progressive Alliance
Nodutdol
Northern Virginians for Peace and Justice
NYC Jericho Movement
Occupy Bergen County
Ode to Earth/Echoes of Silence
Pacifica Peace People
Pan Left Productions
PARC | Politics Art Roots Culture
Peace Task Force
Priority Africa Network
Protect Our Activists
Pueblo Sin Fronteras
Roots Action
Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Seattle Anti-War Coalition
Show Up! America
Troika Collective
US Hands Off Cuba and Venezuela South Florida
Veterans For Peace Chapter 92 Seattle, President
Virginia Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality
White Rabbit Grove RDNA
Women Against Military Madness
Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press
Yoga For Peace, Justice, Harmony With the Planet
Broome Tioga Green Party
Democratic World Federalists
Green Party of Monmouth County, NJ
Green Party of New Jersey
MOLHA
Workers World Party - Bay Area
Young Ecosocialists of the Green Party of the United State
Individuals
Ajamu Baraka, National Organizer, Black Alliance for Peace
Margaret Flowers, MD, Director, Popular Resistance
Bahman Azad, General Secretary, US Peace Council
Leah Bolger, World Beyond War
Renate Bridenthal, Professor
Layla Brown, Professor
Charisse Burden-Stelly, Black Alliance for Peace
Brian E. Concannon, Human Rights Lawyer
Gerry Condon, Veterans For Peace
Dr. Edwin E. Daniel, Professor Emeritus
Nicolas J S Davies, Journalist
Jackie DiSalvo, Professor
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Author
Yves Engler, Journalist
Eunice Mina Escobar, Alliance for Global Justice
Leonardo Flores, CODEPINK Latin America Campaign Coordinator
Al Glatkowski, Peace and anti-imperialist activist
Anthony Gronowicz, Professor
Chris Hedges, Author
Madelyn Hoffman, former candidate for US Senate (NJ)
Nicholas J. S. Davies, Journalist
Rev. John Long
Abby Martin, The Empire Files
Patrick McCann, Veterans For Peace
Nan McCurdy, United Methodist Missionary
Tom Neilson, Ed D
Rael Nidess, MD
Anthony O’Brien, Professor (retired)
Eve Ottenberg, Writer
George L. Pauk, MD
David Paul, Embassy Protector
Mike Prysner, The Empire Files
Victor M. Rodriguez, Emeritus Professor
Sr. Claudette Schiratti, RSM
Danny Shaw, Professor
Cindy Sheehan, Peace and Social Justice Activist
Maj. (ret.) Danny Sjursen
David Swanson, World Beyond War
Rev. James L. Swarts
Roger Waters, Musician/Activist
Colonel Ann Wright, Veterans For Peace
Alainka
Alex
Ángel
Annie
NK A.
Sarah A.
Usama Abbas
Judith anne Ackerman
L. Adams
Liz Aaronsohn
Fran Aguirre
Elizabeth Ahrens
Nia Aisha
Diane Ake
Phyllis T. Albritton
Peter Alexeas
Claire Alexander
Ellan Allen
Matthew Almonte
Wes Alvarez
Luci Amani
Louise Amyot
Ashley Anderson
Glen Anderson
Joshua Angelus
JL Angell
Tina Ann
Merriam Ansara
Ikenna Anumba
Cary Appenzeller
Phyllis Arist
B. Ross Ashley
Mohammad Amir Askari
Nzingha Assata
Kevin Atkins
Vichina Austin
Bob
Art B.
Stephen Bailey
Jean Bails
Kirk Bails
Rhamier Shaka Balagoon
Zeke Baker
Lon H Ball
Enzo Bard
Mara Bard
Karyn Barry
SandraKanela Barton
Michael Bass
Sue Bastian
MJ Baumann
Keith Bavin
Patricia Becker
Jim Becklund
Gerhard Bedding
JoAnne Beemon
Petros Bein
Lily Benavides
Christian Benjamin
Bara Berg
Steven Berge
Sister Deanna Rose von Bargen RSCJ
Nancy Bernstein
Brianna Berry
Michael Betz
J. Beverly
Barbara Biira
Jonah Blaustein
Diana Block
Elizabeth Block
Joy Bo
Pamela Bond
Michael Boone
Patrick D Bosold
Raquel Brac
Joe Nathan Bradley
Joshua Bradley
Chris Brentlinger
Tomas Bribriesco
Edward Briody
Yolanda Stern Broad, PhD
Wolfgang Bronner
David Brookbank
Francine Brown
Layla Brown
Ronald and Deidre Brown
B. Keith Brumley
John Burnett
Martha W D Bushnell
Charles Byrne
C. A.
Chris
Cora
C. S.
Gloria A Caballero
Robert Cable
Erica Caines
Chico Callman
Benita J. Campbell
Mark Cappetta
Michael Carano
Suzanne Carlson
Marilyn Carlisle
Mike Casey
Mary Cato
Yhamir Chabur
Susan Chakmakian
Stacie Charlebois
Lela Charney
Claudia Chaufan
Erica Chavez
Courtney Childs
Aimi Chinen
Jane Chischilly
Saheli Chowdhury
Jordan Cisneros
Celeste Clamage
Craig Clark
Joan Clark
Robert Clark
Jill Clark-Gollub
Joseph Clifford
David Coe
Rosemary K Coffey
Merrill Cole
Henry Cooper
Anneke Corbett
Ralph Corbo
Françoise Corgier
Megan Cornish
Gérard Couchoud
Nancy L Cowger
Caryn Cowin
Paul Cox
Michael Craig
Rose Crayton
Nellie Crick
Lauren Croom
Lawrence Crowley
Connie Curtis
Lawrence Cwik
Darian
Denise
Toni Dang
Dr. Edwin E. Daniel
Linda Day
Gwendolyn Debrow
Klef de Gregorio
Buddy Delegal
Jean Delma
Karen Deora
Marie DesJarlais
Susan Detato
Marylyn F Devlin
Carol Devoss
Maude Dews
Dorothea DiCecco
Grace Diehl
Eric Dietrich
Jackie DiSalvo
Steve Ditore
Paul Dix
Nancy Dollard
John & Sara L Donnelly
Ada Donno
Howard Druan
Lucy Duff
Helen Duffy
Luce Duguay
Joseph Dumas
Neil Dunaetz
Greg Dunkel
Chelsey Dyer
Wendy Ebersberger
Elisabeth Ecker
Ashley Edgette
Iris Edinger
Neo Ekwueme
Yoav Elinevsky
Vincent Emanuele
Ingvar Enghardt
Jared Eno
Gary Edward Erb
William Erickson
Phill Esdaille
Bernadette Evangelist
Michael W Evans
Scott T Eversole
Claudia Eyzaguirre
Michael Leslie Falk
Donald B. Fanning
Ka’ila Farrell-Smith
Mark Farris
Anjolaoluwa Fashanu
Wendy Fast
Lisa B. Feldberg
Tracy S Feldman
Priscilla Felia
Helga I. Fellay
Corey Ferguson
Linda Ferland
Doug Ferrari
Matthew Flannery
Anna Louise Fontaine
MarayAnna Foskett
Stephen Fournier
Maryann Fox
Travis Frampton
Parlo Francois
Hannah Franz
Beth Jane Freeman
Sunil Freeman
Deb Friedman
Pat Fry
Andrew Funaro
Sherrill Futrell
Lois Gagnon
Wesson Gaige
Dáigo Galvez
Joan Gannon
Elijah Gardner
Penelope Gardner
Robert Gardiner
Brendhan Garland
Jose Garza II
Ira Gerard-DiBenedetto
Mark M Giese
Laurent Gilbert, Sr.
S. Gilbertsen
Daniel Gilman
Robert Gilman
Jill Godmilow
Frances A Goff
Donald Goldhamer
Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt
Adrian Gonzalez
Guadalupe Gonzalez
Marcy Gordon
Bob Gorringe
Mark Gotvald
Jeannette Graulau
Caryn Graves
Michael Green
Linda Greene
David Greenberg
Sarah Grey
Gustavus D Griffin
Pablo Grigera
Michael Grish
Dirk Groenenberg
William Grosh
Gloria Guillo
Maya Guttman-Slater
Helgaleena H
Nolan H.
Chase Halsne
Dee Halzack
James E. Hamilton
H. Hardouf
Aliya Harris
Ian Harris
Sue Harris
Laura Hart
Nancy Hatfield
Savannah Hawkins
Ken Hayes
Navjot Heer
Maxwell Hellmann
Louis R Hellwig
Jay Henderson
Gene B. Herman
Suzanne Hesh
Elaine Hickman
Arlene Hickory
Hollis Higgins
Monica Hill
Lauri Hoagland
Sally Hobson
Virginia Hollins-Davidson
Bill Holt
Alana Horowitz Friedman
Carl A Howard
Cynthia Howard
John Huber
Lois L. Guthrie
Johnathan Huddleston
Barbara Humphrey
Gui In de Betouw
Linda Geier Ingersoll
Ital Kofi Ital
JP
Jacob
Joshua
Carolyn Jackson
Bill Jacobson
Monica James
KE Jarvis
Patrick Jean-Pierre
Stephanie Jed
Tim Jeffries
Dominic Jermano
Mauricio Jimenez
Arnold Melvin Johnson
Charles Johnson
David Johnson
Gretchen Johnson
Lorraine D. Johnson
Stephen G Johnson
Gregory Jones
Jordan Jones
Lois Jordan
Mary Lou Jorgensen-Bacher
Nakita Joseph
Robert Curtis Joy
Ana Juarbe
M. Adaline Jyurovat
Karyn
Kayla
Chris Kaihatsu
Michael Kaufman
Seymour Kellerman
John Kilcher
Harold Kimpel
Glenn Kissack
Cathy Klein
Jacqueline Knable
Susan Knotek
Chris Koston
Michael Kowalchuk
Cheryl Kozanitas
Dawn Kramer
Stefan Kreft
Gwen Krueget
Julie Kuberski
Ausra Kubilius
Miriam Kurland
Danielle Kwon
Raymond Lambert
Laura Lance
Linette Landa
Bill Lankford
Elisa Larson
Sarina Larson
Tori Lassman
Philip Latka
Kaye Lattimore
Barbara Laxon
Nydia Leaf
Stephen Leberstein
Jaci Leavitt
Kenneth Lederman
Lennon Lederman
Peter Leeftink
Kiki Legrand
Gil Leib
Dorothea Leicher
Albert Lerner
Mary Lester
Claudia Leung
Elana Levy
Loren Lewandowski
Rena Lewis
Judith Lienhard
Tami Linder
Jennifer Lipka
Christopher Lish
Stephen Liss
Guy Liston
Jonothan Logan
Dave Logsdon
Kristin Loken
Leslie Singer Lomas
Ned Long
Mark Looney
Stephanie Losse
Josephine Lowrey
Thomas Luce
Martha Lujan
Marta Lulewicz
Nancy Lyles
Priscilla Lynch
Denise Lytle
Margo
Mary
Maure
Melissa
Yvonnre M.
Calli Madrone
Marc J Mancini
Melissa Mandel
Lisa Manon
Sarah Curtis Martin
Gabriel Martinez Saldivar
Ant Massaro
Max Mastellone
Rik Masterson
Ursula Mathern
Milo Matthews
Camilo Maya
Mark Mayer
Natasha Mayers
Elise McCaffrey
Madeline B McClure
Joshua Ezra McCoy
Tynesha McCullers
Sam McFadzean
Steven McGiffen
Jo Ann McGreevy
Laura McHenry
Kevin McKaig
Alan McThredder
John Mejia
Ms. Kathryn Melton
Bob Meola
Nancy Meredith
Fran Merker
Maya Messinger
Jill Michels
James Miller
Kerby Miller
Larry Miller
Michael Miller
Gerry Milliken
Eric Mills
Virginia Mills
Mirna Miranda
Kurt Miron
Susan Mirsky
Jonathan Mitchell
Kristin Mitchell
Feroze Mithiborwala
Zabrina Mohamed
David Monsees
Jean Mont-Eton
Hugh Moore
Eileen Moran
Kent Mori
Gilda Morkert
Samuel Morningstar
Ulises Moscoso
Gail S. Mott
Michael J. Motta
Dr. Thomas Muhr
Harriet Mullaney
Lauren Murdock
Luci Murphy
Margaret Murphy
Randolph Murray
Nas
Nate
Nicholas
Jonathan T. Nack
Russell Nadel
Adam Nation
Wayne Nealis
Nancy Wallace Nelson
Victor Nepomnyashchy
Immanuel Ness
John Nettleton
Steve Neubeck
Jesse Neumann
Elizabeth Neuse
Marcia Newfield
David Nichols
Joan Nicholson
Kathy Nickodemus
Kris Niznik
June Noble
Adam P Nolan
Brian Noyes Pulling, M.Div.
Maribel Núñez
Sheena O.
David Oberweiser Jr
Sinéad O'Brien
Meaveen O'Connor
Stefan Olhede
Corey E. Olsen
Jon D. Olsen
Cyril Joseph O'Reilly
Elizabeth Orem
Edward O'Rourke, Jr
Tunde Osazua
Paige
PJ
Lucy Pagoada
Lorna Paisley
Timothea Papas
Alan Papscun
Rashid Patch
Shirley Pate
Richard Pathak
Lesley Patton
Jill Paulus
Sven Erik Pedersen
Andrea Perdue
Mary Anne Perrone
JoAnn Peters
Annie Petrokubi
Terry Phelan
Letty Phillips
Barbara Phinney
Felton Pierre
Joe Piette
Mike Pincus Paige
Cecile Pineda
Catherine Podojil
Mary Prophet
George Prudent
Pete Puma
Luis I. Quiñones
Rachel
Aliyah R
Kamal Rajapakse
Peter Ranis
Keegan Rasmussen
Jim Rauner
Linda Ray
John Re
Robert Ream
Judith Reed
Joseph Reilly
Oscar Revilla
Brian Reynolds
Maxim K. Rice
Hilda Richey
Kyle Riness
Cyndi Roberts
Norma V Rodriguez
Victor M. Rodriguez
Gordon Rogoff
David Rohrlich
Jelica Roland
Denise Romesburg
Marianne Roncoli
David Rose
Sean G Rosenstock
Cathy Rowan
Ellen Rubin
Kenneth Ruby
Kathleen Ruff
Ko Ruijter
Phil Runkel
Raymond Ruthenberg
SH
Bert Sacks
Malcolm Sacks
Andrew Saladino
Joe Salazar
Libre XAssata Sankara
Michael-David Sasson
Rosemarie G Sawdon
Sr. Claudette Schiratti, RSM
Einar Schlereth
John Schmittauer
Pete Schoonmaker
Eli Schotz
Leslie Schultz
Arlene Schutz
Diana Scott
Tyler Scott
Maro Sevastopoulos
Nancy Sharp
Maureen Sheahan
Nadia Shebaro
Susan Sheinfeld
Charles Sherrouse
Audrey Shipp
Heide Shrouder
Robert Siegel
Anna Siftar
Carmen Agoyo Silva
Dana Silvernale
Leslie Singer
Julie Skelton
William and Ursula Slavick
Harry Smaller
Adia Smith
Brandon Smith
Brandy Smith
Brenda Lee Smith
J.T. Smith
Mark Smith
Mark Smith
Newland F Smith
William Snavely
Nicole Sohn
Lomas Lisa Sparaco
Alexa Spiegel
Lana Spilsbury
Mari Stachenfeld
Bill Stansbery
Barrie Stebbings
Burton Steck
Mele Stokesberry
Roger Stoll
Connie Stomper
Jack Strasburg
Anne Streeter
Lucinda Stroud
Stevie Sugarman
Meryl Sundove
Selina Sweet
Christian Sweningsen
Cynthia Sypher-Lopez
Daniel Tagbo
Linda Tate
Gary Thaler
Leslie Thatcher
Alan Thomas
Jan Thompson
Brian Tierney
Ann Tiffany
Carol Tileston
Konstantinos Tillis
Fern Tishman
Alexandra Topping
Amanda Torres
Eleanor Toth
Erline Towner =
Grace Trapnell
Con Trowbridge
Chris Tuch
Paul Turner
Ralph Tuscher
Gene Ulmer
Valentina
Vanessa
Natalie Van Leekwijck
Marcelo Vazquez
Kenny Vieth
Gerardo Veliz Carrillo
Dr. Bethy Victorin
Pierre-Paul Villafafila
Dana Visalli
Peter von Christierson
Mary Vorpahl
Siamak Vossoughi
Wangeci
Ronald Waddell
Raymond Wager
Trudi Wallace
James M Wallrabenstein
Terrence Ward
Rev Ruby Warren
Joseph Wasserman
Elizabeth Watts
Stephen E. Weil
Vivian Weinstein
Allan Widmeyer
Paki Wieland
Lois Wilcken
William Williams
Susan Willis
Thomas J Windberg
Dallas Windham
Doug Wingeier
Steve Wise
Lisa Witham
Tom Wojcik
Nancy Woolley
Nancy Wright
Randall Wyatt
Yan
Jim Yarbrough
Jane A Yater
Sahand Yazdanyar
Nancy York
Zhun Xu
Carlos Zepeda
Denise Zwahlen
The March 5-8 trip will be Francis' first outside Italy since November 2019, when he visited Thailand and Japan. Four trips planned for 2020 were canceled because of COVID-19.
"He really feels that need to reach out to people on their home ground," said the official, a Vatican prelate who is familiar with Iraq and who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Vatican officials and local Church leaders say they are satisfied that Iraqi forces will be able to provide adequate security for the Pope and his entourage.
"The Pope knows where he is going. He is deliberately coming to an area marked by war and violence to bring a message of peace," Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil told reporters on a recent conference call.
Persecution has already slashed the country's Christian community -- one of the world's oldest -- from 1.5 million in 2003 to just 400,000 today.
The 84-year-old pontiff plans to voice solidarity with them and the rest of Iraq's 40 million people during an intense week of visits nationwide.
From central Baghdad to the Shiite shrine city of Najaf, welcome banners featuring his image and Arabic title "Baba al-Vatican" already dot the streets.
From Ur, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham in the southern desert, to ravaged Christian towns in the north, roads are being paved and churches rehabilitated in remote areas that have never seen such a high-profile visitor.
The pope’s upcoming visit to Iraq is a “precious gift” not only for the Christians who live there, but for all those who after years of war want a return to peace and coexistence between religions, a priest who worked for eight years in the diocese of Mosul told Arab News.
“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Pope Francis is coming … to invite us to all be instruments of peace,” said Fr. Jalal Jako.
“Like a dove, he’ll bring a twig of peace to all the people living in this land who’ve suffered for too long.”
Jako, currently in Italy, will return to Iraq for the pope’s visit, which will begin on March 5.
Iraq rejects any Turkish operations on its soil that have not been approved by Baghdad, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry told Rudaw on Monday.
“We have expressed our stance more than once, and have said that we
reject any operation conducted by our neighbor Turkey without approval
and collaboration with the government in Baghdad,” Ahmad Sahaf told
Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi.
“Previously, a number of these operations have caused harm to the
infrastructure of certain areas in the north of Iraq, and damaged some
buildings, and maybe caused the death of civilians. Any military
operation without the approval of Iraq is completely rejected,” he
added.
Baghdad has lodged formal protests on a number of occasions over Turkish
operations into the Kurdistan Region, accusing Ankara of violating
Iraqi sovereignty.
