We hear a lot about defending “religious freedom” abroad. We hear even more about protecting Christians from persecution. But here’s what we don’t hear: our own government’s wars and interventions—often in lockstep with Israel—have destroyed some of the oldest Christian communities on earth.

Before the Iraq War in 2003, Christians made up around 10% of Iraq’s population. They traced their roots back to the first centuries after Christ. Churches had stood for over a thousand years. Then came the U.S. invasion. Sectarian chaos followed, and Islamist militias moved in. Christians were killed, forced to convert, taxed under jizya laws, or driven into exile. In just two decades, their numbers fell to around 1–2%. That’s over a million and a half people displaced, their homes gone, their churches burned, their history erased.

Syria tells the same story. Around 10% Christian before the war. Then the U.S. and its allies decided to arm and support “rebels” who often turned out to be hardline Islamists. Ancient Christian towns like Maaloula—where they still spoke the Aramaic language of Jesus—were attacked, churches desecrated, believers killed or scattered. Another ancient branch of the faith, nearly wiped out in our lifetime.

And then there’s the West Bank. Few realize there’s still a small, shrinking population of Palestinian Christians. These are not newcomers—they are descendants of the very first Christians. The last entirely Christian village, Taybeh, is under siege from violent Israeli settlers. Homes have been torched. Crops destroyed. People attacked in the streets. All under the watch—and often the protection—of the Israeli army. This is not “defense.” This is slow-motion eradication.

Father Bashar Basiel of Taybeh describes “living under the fire, barbarism, and brutality” every day. His people face threats, humiliation, and constant pressure to abandon their land. Yet they refuse to leave. “We will win with hope. We are Palestinian Christians. We resist with our faith.”

Here’s the ugly truth: without U.S. political cover, U.S. veto power at the UN, and billions in U.S. military aid every single year, Israel could not sustain this system of oppression. Our tax dollars don’t just fund “security”—they help bankroll the very violence that is pushing our brothers and sisters in Christ out of their ancestral homes.

If you’re an American Christian who proudly waves the flag for “supporting the Church,” it’s time to face this: our foreign policy has not protected our brothers and sisters in the Middle East—it has helped destroy them. Iraq. Syria. Palestine.

We are watching Christianity’s oldest communities vanish… not at the hands of distant enemies, but as collateral damage—and sometimes direct targets—in wars and occupations our leaders chose.

Maybe it’s time to start asking hard questions about who we really stand with—and whether the “good guys” in these conflicts are the ones we’ve been told.