[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             CRISIS IN IRAQ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and I are sending the 
following letter, and we urge Members of Congress from both sides of 
the aisle to sign this letter to President Obama:

       Dear Mr. President:
       Many Americans have been deeply troubled by the unfolding 
     crisis in Iraq. The rapid fall of multiple Iraqi cities to 
     the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS, brings 
     the militant group notably closer to its declared aim of 
     establishing a caliphate that spans the northern sections of 
     Syria and Iraq.
       A June 12 BBC article described ISIS in the following way: 
     ``The group has a reputation for brutality. Parts of Syria 
     and Iraq that have previously fallen under its rule have 
     witnessed summary execution, beheadings, and even 
     crucifixions.''
       It is against this backdrop, Mr. President, that we write 
     to you bearing in mind recent reports from Archbishop Bashar 
     M. Warda of the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil. While his 
     particular diocese is relatively calm at the moment, the 
     picture that he painted, consistent with news report, of the 
     situation in Mosul and the implications for Iraq's ancient 
     Christian community and other religious minorities was bleak 
     and sobering.
       For years, we have witnessed a precipitous decline of 
     Iraq's Christian community. Thousands have fled in the face 
     of targeted violence. Many of those that remained relocated 
     to Mosul and the Nineveh Plain. To people of faith, Nineveh 
     is a familiar name: the site of a dramatic spiritual revival 
     as told in the Biblical book of Jonah. These areas were one 
     of the last remaining havens for this beleaguered community. 
     In fact, Archbishop Warda indicated that this past Sunday, 
     for the first time in 1,600 years, there was no Mass said in 
     Mosul.
       For the thousands who have already fled Mosul, they are 
     facing not just displacement and imminent danger, but a 
     growing humanitarian nightmare marked by lack of access to 
     clean water, food, fuel, and electricity.
       As such, Mr. President, we urge you and your administration 
     to urgently and actively engage with the Iraqi central 
     government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, to 
     prioritize additional security support for these particularly 
     vulnerable populations and expanded humanitarian assistance 
     and emergency aid delivery to those affected communities.
       Absent immediate action, we will most certainly witness the 
     annihilation of an ancient faith community from the lands 
     they have inhabited for centuries.

  Mr. Speaker, we urge Members to sign this letter by the end of the 
day. More Biblical activity took place in Iraq than any other country 
of the world, other than Israel.
  Abraham is from Iraq, from Ur, which is Nasiriyah. Esther, for such a 
time like this, is from Iraq. Jonah is from Nineveh--many people 
believe may very well be buried in Iraq. Ezekiel is buried in Iraq. 
Daniel, one of the great men of the Bible, is buried in Iraq.
  So we urge all Members, this is something we can unite on. This is 
not a Republican or Democratic issue. This is an issue of saving this 
ancient community and urging the administration to urge the Kurds to 
protect them as they flee from this area.
  I urge all Members, please call my office, call Anna Eshoo's office, 
to sign this letter by the end of the day, in order to save the 
Christian community and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

                          ____________________