NEW YORK, AUGUST 12 (RIA Novosti) – US airstrikes in northern Iraq are not designed to protect fleeing Christians and herald an escalating conflict in the country, former diplomat Peter Van Buren told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“The US media is playing the meme that the US is worried about a Christian minority in Iraq, as a way to engorge the American people with blood. But the media fails to note that more than half of Iraq’s Christians were killed or fled during the US occupation,” Van Buren, who had a 24-year career in the US State Department said.
“By launching airstrikes, the US has gone all-in on the side of Iraqi Shias and Kurds. You cannot bomb away a political movement. You cannot kill an idea that motivates millions of people with a Hellfire missile.”
The United States has launched airstrikes against the Islamic State (IS), which is also known as ISIS and ISIL. The Sunni Muslim group controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Recent attacks on Kurdish-run northern Iraq have forced tens of thousands of Christians to flee their homes.
Last week, US President Barack Obama gave the green light to US airstrikes on IS targets, saying the operation aims to protect US personnel in Iraq and prevent the “genocide” of Iraqi religious minorities.
Van Buren, the author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, says he was persecuted by the State Department for criticizing America’s botched nation-building efforts after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
