Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1018/p06s01-woiq.html?s=hns

On October 18, 2004 The Christian Science Monitor ran a story on Iraqi Christians, increasingly under attack and fleeing the country. The article opened with a baptism scene in a Baghdad church and quoted a priest: "'We should be strong in our hearts and work together, united,' the priest said. 'Thanks to our Muslim neighbors, who helped us. Let God protect our country, and let peace live in our hearts.' That is a tough message today in Iraq, where every religious and ethnic group that makes up Iraq's complex mosaic has been targeted by suicide bombs, assassinations, and kidnappings. US forces and the Iraqi interim government vow to crush the insurgency before elections in late January. Military attention is now focused on Fallujah, which US and Iraqi officials say is a staging ground for insurgents planning attacks and kidnappings. Peace talks broke down over the weekend... In Baghdad, the church attacks reminded Christians - just 3 percent of the population, with no political weight - of their increasing vulnerability."