not that this list really matters

(seems that if you're a 'bud' to the states, no matter HOW repressive a society you are, you don't get put on THE list). more horrid news out of iraq. who stirred the pot?

Panel cites gross violations of religious freedom in Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Soaring sectarian violence and government abuses have caused an alarming deterioration in religious freedom in Iraq, prompting a U.S. advisory panel for the first time to place it on a watch list of countries where worship is under severe threat.
Citing gross violations of the rights of Sunni and Shiite Muslims, as well as followers of numerous minority beliefs, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom added Iraq to its "watch list" on Wednesday. Violations included arbitrary arrests, torture and rape.......

............"Despite ongoing efforts to stabilize the country, successive Iraqi governments have not adequately curbed the growing scope and severity of human rights abuses," it said, describing an "alarming and deteriorating situation for freedom of religion and belief."...............

..........."The Iraqi government has engaged in human rights violations through its state security forces, including arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention without due process, extrajudicial executions and systematic torture," it said.............

............For example, the commission had long recommended that Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, be named a "country of particular concern" for its refusal to recognize any religion other than Islam. It was finally so designated in 2005 but enjoys an executive waiver from sanctions.
The government has also resisted naming two other anti-terror allies, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, countries "of particular concern" despite the panel's recommendations..............

and

Iraq on Watch List of Nations That Violate Religious Rights


By Alan Cooperman Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 3, 2007; Page A10
For the first time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, a high-level advisory panel has placed Iraq on a watch list of countries that violate religious freedom, saying the government there engages in extrajudicial killings based on religious identity.
In its annual recommendations to the State Department yesterday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom stopped short of naming Iraq a "country of particular concern" -- a label reserved for the worst perpetrators.............

........But Michael Cromartie, a GOP appointee, said that "there's enough blurring of the lines between government actors and non-government actors that it doesn't seem fair" to put Iraq in the worst category...............

(perhaps mr cromartie wants to take a trip to iraq and attempt to worship however he usually does, if at all. i'd really like to see that happen)