There is no question that the airstrikes launched by Russia in Syria on Wednesday would cause a lot of trouble and damage. However, American evangelist Franklin Graham believes some good could still come out of it.
Speaking on Newsmax TV, Graham said the Russian airstrikes in Syria might just end up saving the lives of countless persecuted Christians.
"What Russia is doing may save the lives of Christians in the Middle East," said Graham. "You understand that the Syrian government for their good and for their bad over the history of this country, they have protected Christians, they have protected minorities from the Islamists."
The airstrikes were launched in the Syrian provinces of Homs and Hama, which have been hounded by a four-year-old civil war. The rebels living in these areas have been working hard to bring down the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
Should they succeed in toppling the government of Syria and its other institutions, Graham believes there would be "a bloodbath of Christians."
"There were would be tens of thousands of Christians murdered and slaughtered and on top of that, you would have hundreds of thousands of more refugees pouring into Europe. So Russia right now, I see their presence as helping to save the lives of Christians," he said.
So far, the airstrikes have reportedly claimed the lives of at least 33 civilians, including children. Graham blames the Obama administration's lack of leadership for their deaths and for many others' suffering.
"If you look at ISIS, ISIS came about because of the failed leadership of President Obama. His generals told him not to pull the US troops out of Iraq. He did it anyway," Graham said. "The government of Iraq began to marginalise the Sunnis. So when the Sunnis saw that they didn't have a seat at the table anymore, ISIS was formed and they joined with the ISIS inside of Syria."
Graham slammed Obama for being more invested in promoting same-sex marriage and the agenda of the gay and lesbian community than he is in protecting Christians.
"I'm not here to bash the gays and lesbians and they certainly have rights and I understand all of that, but this administration has been more focused on that agenda than anything else," he clarified. "As a result, the Middle East is burning and you have more refugees moving today since World War II. It could have been prevented."
