AC: "A witness to another
recent attack...said that if this continues there will
be no Christians left in this country."
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Length: 1:32
LARGE (17.8 MB)
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SMALL (1.9 MB)
This is mostly the same clip that aired on
International, but there is one new segment that
has been added.
ANDERSON
COOPER: Tonight, a fresh reminder of the uncertainty
and bloodshed in Iraq. Bombings in Baghdad and Ramadi
today killed at least 12 Iraqis. And as you know, in
recent weeks the uptick in violence has also included
a renewed wave of attacks on Christians. They're
being marked for death, the killer sending a message
to the faithful. Michael Ware has more in tonight's
"360 Dispatch."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A
church bombed in Baghdad, one of six struck by
Islamic militants in less than 24 hours. Here, in
Catholic bishop Warduni's rectory, his curtains
shredded by shrapnel from a car bomb, part of a
long-running campaign of attacks with a single, clear
message from the extremists: Christians are not
welcome in Iraq. Attacks that began not under Saddam
Hussein's regime, but only after the U.S. invasion .
BISHOP SHLEMON WARDUNI, CHURCH WAS BOMBED: This is a
question of just attack the church. Why? We don't
know. So, all this sudden actions against Christians,
sure, it will be not so easy for Christians.
WARE (on camera): On Sunday evening, dozens and
dozens of Iraqi families filled these chairs, here in
the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic church in
Baghdad. They'd come for 5 p.m. mass, as they do
every week. When mass finished, they came out here
into this courtyard. This church is protected by
Iraqi checkpoints. The closest one just outside
there, on the corner. When the car detonated, two
young men had just stepped outside to collect their
cars to take their families home. Those two men lost
their lives, and according to the Iraqi government,
so did two others from the Muslim family living
nearby. And among the congregation, the church says
at least 25 people were wounded.
(voice-over): Attacks virtually certain to continue.
WARDUNI: They are almost doing against us. We have no
job. We have no security.
WARE: With U.S. Troops now restricted to bases
outside of Iraq cities, able to operate only at the
invitation of the Iraqi government, the security the
bishop seeks must now come from the Iraqi security
forces. Those forces are being trained by Americans
led by this man, Lieutenant General Frank Helmik and
the general says these church bombings shouldn't be
taken as an indication of how the Iraqis are faring.
LT GEN FRANK HELMICK, U.S. ARMY: Our combat forces
have just left the city. It's been two weeks, if you
will. So again, these "attacks," these high profile
attacks are not unexpected at all.
WARE: In the end, there will be one true measure of
success: how well the Iraqi forces can protect
Iraqis.
HELMICK: In some cases, they are reverting back to
the Iraqi way, but that's not the wrong way. It is
the Iraqi way. And what our goal is and our mission
is to leave a credible security force in this country
to provide the protection for the Iraqi people. So,
the Western way may not be the right way for the
Iraqi military.
WARE (on camera): No one knows the exact figure, but
most agree that at the time of the U.S.-led invasion,
Iraq's Christian community was about a million
strong. Now, almost seven years later, most believe
there's only a few hundred thousand left. After years
of sustained attacks on their communities by Muslim
militant extremists, a witness to another recent
attack on a church here in Baghdad said that if this
continues, there will be no Christians left in this
country.
WARDUNI: I, for myself, I will stay here until the
last drop of my blood.
WARE (voice-over): Courage he will need for the fate
of Iraq's remaining Christians and their churches
will be one of many barometers of the new Iraq's
success or failure.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.