Aug 11 2007
Did Iranian Backed Mahdi Shiia Assassinate Iraqi Shiia Governor?
As the Sunni’s in Iraq rise up against al-Qaeda and start to work with the Iraqi government and US forces to stabilize their areas of Iraq, the violence in these regions has dropped off significantly. As that as happened the Shiia problem has become more exposed. I doubt it has become more of a problem since the Surge began. Whenever you start whittling down the tallest pole you have to deal with the second tallest is still there and will become the tallest pole at some point. You are still beating down the challenges, just taking them in order.
But today we see again that the Islamic Extremists do not attack Americans as much as kill Muslims. Their rhetoric claims to fight for Muslims, their actions indicate the opposite. This is the same way al-Qaeda lost its support in the Sunni Provinces and ended up fighting the locals as well as the Iraqi federal forces and the US forces. In Iraq it seems that the extremist Mahdi Shiia have assasinated a more moderate Shiia leader – proving again this is not a sectarian battle in Iraq but a battle against Muslim Extermists and Terrorists.
The governor and police chief of Iraq’s Shi’ite province of Diwaniya were killed when a roadside bomb hit their convoy of vehicles on Saturday, police said.
Diwaniya governor Khalil Jalil Hamza and police chief Major-General Khaled Hassan were returning to the provincial capital of the same name, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, when their convoy of four-wheel drives was hit.
Hassan had been in the job for less than a week, police said. Hamza was a member of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC), the biggest Shi’ite party in Iraq.
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One policeman said the bomb was an “explosively formed penetrator,” a particulaly deadly form of armor-piercing bomb which U.S. forces accuse Iran of supplying to Iraqi militias.
The SIIC’s armed wing, the Badr Organization, has been in conflict with the Mehdi Army militia of powerful anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Shi’ite-dominated south has become increasingly restless as factions vie for control of the oil-rich region, often pitting police loyal to one bloc against militiamen of others.
This is NOT sectarian violence – these are groups are all from the same religous ‘sect’. And it is clear the battle is between those willing to send Iraq into a future of Democracy and defending peace and those who want Iraq to be an enemy of the West. You have to have blinders on not to see this is the front on the war on terror. And it is what we all knew we needed to see (and support) if we wanted to avoid many future 9-11s. We needed to see the moderate Muslims aligned with us fighting the extremists. War is not pretty, but we have to face facts. If the Mahdi fanatics succeed in killing off their opposition in Iraq, they will set their sights on us next. With the backing of their Iranian allies.
Didn’t Mookie Al Sadi himself kill another cleric at the start of this or do I have the wrong spiritual leader? At any rate it’s waaaayyyy past time to send these Mehdi to meet the 72 Virgins .Hee hee won’t they be suprised hope they all look like San Fran Nan
There are significant differences among the Shia as well as the Sunni. For instance, there is the Njaf school vs the Qom school. and there are differences between Arab and Persian as well. I think that a lot of the violence in the South is gang related as well.
I am sure that as the British pull back there will be some conflict as the different factions vie for domination.
I remember reading some time ago that in NYC police officers used to fight each other in the streets in precinct battles…in other words they were the criminals. When Theodore Roosevelt came along as a reformer he fired half the police men. When he was told he could not do that he laughed and said he would fire them all if he could find enough honest men in New York to do their jobs.
It seems that the British lost control of the South and the Basara area quite some time ago. The Shia are going to fight it out for control of the oil. Some groups alined with Iran. I’m a little worried about al Maliki, I think we don’t know what he will do to save himself. We have to support him because he was elected.
Kathie
British soldiers have great spirit among themselves and are very good soldiers despite the issues with the Navy one’s taken by Iran.
But the issue itself is not the willingness of the boots on the ground, it is the attitude and outlook of the higher ups that counters the whole issue.
The larger picture is how Britain is handling their country as a whole.
The surrender of the country to multi-culturism and all the aspects of EU integration is almost perfectly contrary to all the lessons their history has taught them.
It is not a good sign.
It’s interesting in any discussion about sectarian violence/divisions in Iraq….it has become common to frame it as shiah, sunni and kurds. Shiah and Sunni are “religious” divisions. Kurds…is an “ethnic” division. (most Kurds are “sunni muslims”) A more proper comparison or line of study might be differences between arab, persian and kurds, if one were seeking to make a point along racial or ethnic lines—which might just earn you few glares.
It sort of puts things into a different perspective all together does it not? (given arguments made by “experts” pushing their own theories about the civil war in Iraq). As well, these small footnotes that pass by without being understood…that shiahs are fighting shiah…sunni fighing sunni…etc..and all of those being “religious” classifications…doesn’t add up either! Alas, it seems people kill and fight each other for the same ancient reasons they always have…power and influence and money.
Who would have figured it??