Iraq: St. Elijah's 1400 yr old Monastery

Interesting article on St. Elijah which is 1400 years old. It's long history is in the hands of American Troops.

With Iraqi Christians a threatened and dwindling minority, U.S. forces are safeguarding a 1,400-year-old monastery _ Iraq's most ancient _ for a time when peace, reconciliation and archaeological detective work can occur. St. Elijah's Monastery, with its main fortress-like structure looming atop a barren hillside, sits inside a sprawling U.S. military base. Its bloody history makes clear why the monastery needs protection. In 2003, it was damaged during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Some 250 years earlier, it was nearly leveled by a Persian ruler who ordered its monks slain.