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Former congressman Wolf predicts small window to act

Distinguished Senior Fellow Frank R. Wolf just returned from his fifth fact-finding trip to Iraq where he traveled to better understand the current situation the Christians and Yazidis face. Following the liberation of most of the Christian and Yazidi villages in northern Iraq, there is an ever-increasing concern that many of the ethnic and religious minority communities will be unable to return home due to the destruction, and the growing political tensions between the central government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and other non-state actors.
Former congressman Wolf predicts small window to act
Religion News LLC

WASHINGTON –Distinguished Senior Fellow Frank R. Wolf just returned from his fifth fact-finding trip to Iraq where he traveled to better understand the current situation the Christians and Yazidis face. Following the liberation of most of the Christian and Yazidi villages in northern Iraq, there is an ever-increasing concern that many of the ethnic and religious minority communities will be unable to return home due to the destruction, and the growing political tensions between the central government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government and other non-state actors. Communities are skeptical of security guarantees in post-ISIS Iraq. NGOs and the Catholic Church are beginning house repairs and rebuilding programs, however more funding, demining and protection is essential to fully rebuild the region from ISIS’s destruction.

Former Congressman Wolf has seven time-sensitive policy recommendations for northern Iraq:

  1. Encourage the Senate to pass HR 390, the Iraq and Syria Genocide Accountability Act
  2. Put “fresh eyes” on the target
  3. International coalition to secure the Nineveh Plains
  4. Should utilize contractors who are able to leave the secured compound
  5. Should pressure the KRG to implement constitutional reforms
  6. Counteract Iranian imperial ambitions in Iraq
  7. Christian, Yazidi and minority groups Iraq and amongst the diaspora need unity to gain leverage with key power centers

“If something bold is not done by the United States and the international community, I believe we will see the end of Christianity in the cradle of Christendom and a loss of religious and ethnic diversity throughout the region,” says former Congressman Frank Wolf, now Distinguished Senior Fellow with the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative. “This could result in further destabilization across the Middle East such as the Iranian effort to establish a land bridge to Iraq, Syria and to the Mediterranean and present a threat to U.S. national security interests.”


The Northern Iraq 2017 report can be viewed online or downloaded here.

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