TRUMP SIGNS LAW TO AID CHRISTIANS ABROAD

     This move was a long overdue one; correcting a policy enacted by Barack Obama and John Kerry that was responsible for the deaths of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. On Friday, the President signed HR 390, The Iraq and Syria Genocide and Accountability Act of 2018 into law. Vice-President Pence and US Ambassador to the Vatican were present at the signing ceremony. 

     The President stated: "In recent years, ISIS has committed horrifying atrocities against religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq, including Christians, Yazidis, Shia, and other groups...This bill continues my administration’s efforts to direct U.S. assistance toward persecuted communities, including through faith-based programs.  It also allows the government agencies to assist a range of entities in investigating and prosecuting ISIS’s despicable acts.  And they are very despicable indeed. Today, we honor the memory of all those killed by ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and we renew our sacred commitment to religious freedom."

     The new law allows---for the first time---direct assistance to victims of religious persecution in areas formerly controlled by the ISIS Caliphate. Obama and Kerry turned a blind eye to these atrocities: in fact, John Kerry even specifically removed Middle Eastern Christians from eligibility for State Department recognition as a persecuted minority. Freed from the threat of international repercussions, ISIS descended on Christian communities and turned once thriving Christian populaces into hecatombs of wanton destruction and slaughter. Raqqa once had an estimated population of 25,000 Christians now has fewer than 100. 

    The Whacko Left-Wing, who covertly applauded ISIS' ethnic cleansing, is sneering at the new law, saying it's only symbolic since the Caliphate has collapsed. And some Conservatives are uneasy that the law seems close to 'reparations'. Understand though, that a civilized country corrects its mistakes. While the US isn't the only country which has ever paid reparations for bad policy, Americans were the first to initiate the practice---even before our independence. This happened in 1695, when the Massachusetts Colonial Congress authorized payments for surviving victims and families of those convicted unjustly during the Salem Witch Trials. You won't hear about that in PC Academia, though. 

     Carl Anderson, current head of the Knights of Columbus was present at the White House ceremony and told The National Catholic Register that the law is a 'victory for victims' and that “National strength is defending people who are defenseless, I think today really showed what is best about America, in a lot of ways.”

     I think that Anderson's words reflect the truth. When it comes to doing the right thing, there's no room for partisansip.