Sometimes I wonder if these two murdering madmen are in collusion.
Reports of more than 100 dead in Iraq today in reprisal killings and the Sunnis have stalled on government talks demanding an apology for attacks on Sunni mosques.
Everytime they come close to finishing talks on the new government something happens to screw things up. Hopefully Allawi or someone like him can take control of the Interior Ministry and rein in the militias.
In some ways the militias remind me of the KKK. They rose up in a power vacuum and feed off the fear and prejudice around them. The last thing they want is a functioning government that will limit their power.
Iraq the Model has a report:
The Association of Muslim Scholars is accusing the Sadrists in particular, actually it's not only the Association that accuses the Sadrists, most people here in Baghdad point out the role of Mehdi army of Sadr in carrying out most of the attacks.
The Association is trying to remind Sadr of the their times of solidarity during the battles in Najaf and Fallujah yet they are condemning his message to his followers in which he called for keeping up and escalating the "protests".
Baghdad looks more alive today but in a very cautious way, traffic in the streets is heavier than it was yesterday but still way below normal.
There's some kind of shopping frenzy because people are trying to be prepared if the worst happens; people are stock-piling small reserves of food, cigarettes, bottled water…etc especially after they heard some of the roads to/from Baghdad are closed and vehicles were turned away.
read it all and if you happen to be a believer pray for Iraq.
7 comments:
I have had Sadr in my "Better Dead" book for some time. Let's hope he achieves that status soon.
Your allusion to the KKK is dead on. There are a number of people on the "he just needs killin' list in Iraq. My fear is that one of these idiots will get to Sistani prior to stabilization. My second fear is that Sistani doesn't have an adequtely designated second.
At least, I don't know of one.
Rick:
Sistani is one important man. I do not know of a replacement either. And it is hard to get news that can be trusted too.
I really do not know what Zarqawi and Sadr think they can accomplish in the long run. Neither one of these guys has the ability to take down the government or replace it. But they can make it hard for everyone else. Just like a bunch of guys in sheets scaring the hell out of everybody.
I wonder if Iran would have been behind this?
It is interesting and terrible...all those riots over cartoons and now one of the most important shrines in Islam is destroyed by a Muslim.
BTW, some folks will no doubt blame this on the US.
My second fear is that Sistani doesn't have an adequtely designated second.
I'm not sure exactly how it works, but I think there are five top Ayatollahs. Exactly how they get there I don't recall, but they do have to work their way up the Hamza hierarchy. I don't know how Sistani became #1 or if it is even a formal position, it may just be that he is held in most esteem.
The Shia strike me as a bit Christian in organization. The commemoration of the martyrdom of Ali during the 1-10th days of Muharam and the flagellation that goes with it reminds me of Christianity too. I can't help thinking that some practices from pre-Islamic Christian times got adapted. It would be nice to find a scholarly discussion of that.
BTW, some folks will no doubt blame this on the US.
Well, a writer in one Arabic paper claimed that the US engineered the attack to distract attention from the cartoons. It's a twofer.
Really, some of those folks are too nutty to believe, but then we have plenty of those nutcases here, too. Sometimes it is downright discouraging.
chuck:
No kidding.... it is. I just keep telling myself that the nuts in their papers are no more representative than the nuts in ours.
It is strange though, I have been listening to the insane circular thought process for long enough now I can almost predict it.
It is like saying a man murdered his wife to distract attention attention away from his back taxes.
I thought the same thing about the Shia... self flagellation. I guess if we hear they wear horse hair to punish themselves we will know there is a connection.
Terrye,
I guess if we hear they wear horse hair to punish themselves we will know there is a connection.
There were flagellants in medieval times. I suppose it is all part of the ascetic tradition that traces all the way back to the Jews. It is still a part of the Orthodox church, I believe, with hermits and all. The Sufi have some of these practices also, although I am not sure where shoving needles through your cheeks fits in. It seems more like a demonstration of mystical powers, such as practiced in some Tibeten ceremonies.
Hmmm... These sorts of things are so widespread, you have got to wonder if we haven't lost something there.
Find out who did it and the reason will become plain.
Amen. The strange thing is the report of the mosque 'guards' being tied up and placed elsewhere--out of harm's way.
First thought: one of them was a collaborator and all were protected to cover for that one.
Second thought: al Qaeda doesn't usually care about 'sparing' people--even collaborators. After all, they'd be glorified martyrs.
Somehow, unless Zarqawi has totally lost it, I don't think it was necessarily his doing. But, of course, I could be wrong.
Iranian influence? Not so sure even there though they're taking full advantage of the consequences. I don't think blowing up one of the the most revered shia mosques in the world is something they would do.
I just can't see shia doing this.
Unless it's written somewhere that something like this will hasten the return of the 12th Imam, in which case I blame Iran.
Or maybe it's just some stupid sunni insurgents. Or loosely affiliated group that shares the goals but doesn't take direct orders from Zarqawi.
I really believe this incident would horrify Zawahiri and if Zarqawi were responsible, watch out for the long-overdue al Qaeda hit squad against him.
My conclusion: I don't have a clue who actually pulled this off.
I hope those mosque 'guards' are being interrogated.
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