Many of the Christians of Iraq still speak Aramaic-Syriac, the language of Jesus Christ.

The words they speak offer one measure of the link between the ancient and the modern that characterizes one of the oldest Christian communities on the planet. Chaldean, Assyrian and Syriac Christians practice variations on the faith that recall some of its most timeless traditions.

Yet, while Christians in other lands gather in churches this week to celebrate the birth of the Nazarene, the Christians of Iraq will for the most part eschew formal services. The leaders of the various Christian sects in Baghdad, Mosul, Kirkuk and the other major cities of Iraq have determined that it is too dangerous to hold traditional Christmas services.

Even if the services were held, they would be emptier than in the past. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 of Iraq's Christians - 5 percent of the faithful - have left the country in recent months. While Iraqi Christians make up just 3 percent of the overall population, reports are that Christians make up more than 20 percent of the refugee exodus to Syria. And there are mounting fears that, if Iraq becomes an Islamic theocracy, the exodus will accelerate.

Of all the ugly consequences of George W. Bush's absurd invasion and occupation of Iraq, the damage done to the Christian community is particularly sad.Saddam Hussein, the ousted Iraqi dictator, was an often cruel and inhumane leader of his country. But he was also a secularist who believed - in the tradition of the Baathist parties of the Middle East - that Iraq should maintain religious pluralism. Under Saddam, the Iraqi Constitution contained explicit language protecting Christians, and outlawing religious
discrimination. And the words were not idle promises. Iraqi Christians were free to practice their faith, and the government suppressed anti-Christian attacks.

Though a small minority, Christians served in key positions throughout the Iraqi government. A Chaldean Christian, Tariq Aziz, served as deputy prime minister.

With the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has come a time of dramatic instability for all residents of that country. But the instability has hit Christians particularly hard. Churches have been attacked, often in coordinated strikes, and individual Christians have reported instances of harassment and discrimination. After practicing their religion for the better part of 2,000 years on soil trod by the some of the first Christians, the Iraqi faithful are now questioning whether they will be able to continue doing so.

When Christians left Iraq during Saddam's time, they tended to do so for economic reasons. Now they do so out of fear. That is the new reality that the invasion and occupation have visited upon Iraq.

It was never the intent of the Bush administration aides who plotted the invasion and occupation of Iraq to displace an ancient Christian community. Unfortunately, it was an entirely predictable result. In fact, experts on the Middle East warned that an invasion would upset the delicate balance that had allowed religious minorities to worship as they chose.

George Bush's desk warriors did not bother to examine the realities on the ground in the Middle East. Rather, they allowed themselves to be led by their whims and fantasies. And they have made this a darker and more dangerous Christmas season for Christians whose celebration of the Nativity has roots that go back a thousand years before Christianity was practiced in what is now America.

Such is the legacy of empire building.

John Nichols is associate editor for The Capital Times.