Iraqi Catholic Leader Blasts Assyrian Commander for Tribute to U.S. Troops
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako, head of Iraq's largest Christian community, decried the commander of the Christian Assyrian Army, known as Dwekh Nawsha, for shedding tears for U.S. troops killed in Iraq, suggesting the Americans do not deserve to be commended for their sacrifice.
In an interview with Assyrian TV earlier this year, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Sako, declared:
"There went one [man] from here crying at the graves of the troops of America – crying for those who died liberating the Nineveh Plain. Americans died liberating the Nineveh Plain? What saying is this? Where did they die in the Nineveh Plain?"
The patriarch of the Chaldean church, which is one of the Eastern rite churches in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, was referring to Cmdr. Emmanuel Khoshaba Youkhana.
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In a statement, the Assyrian Confederation of Europe (ACE) said in May:
"We urge Louis Sako not to confuse his role as a religious figure with that of a political leader, just as political and secular leaders refrain from passing comment on theology or ecclesiastical affairs."
While Sako would like to see the Christian groups join the Iraqi army and forces loyal to northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Youkhana wants his forces to remain independent.
Youkhana's Christian army has managed to hold territory in the Nineveh Plain despite repeated attacks by the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). His army has implored President Barack Obama to provide weapons and military equipment to no avail.
Full Article: http://www.aina.org/news/20160729005339.htm
AINA cites the Breitbart article but not the original Breitbart link.
Like everything else over there in Syria/Iraq, it sounds pretty messed up.
