Iraq Shiites Demand Elections in Protest (100,000 protesters)

[NNN0LHI]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=2&u=/ap/20040119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims marched peacefully in Baghdad on Monday to demand an elected government, as U.S. and Iraqi officials prepared to seek U.N. endorsement of American plans for transferring power in Iraq (news - web sites).


Secretary-General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) has been reluctant to let the United Nations (news - web sites) play a greater role in Iraq until he is convinced the country is safe.


Underscoring those dangers, 24 people were killed and about 120 were wounded Sunday when a suicide bomber blew up his pickup truck at a gate to the headquarters compound of the occupation authority in Baghdad, Iraq's Health Minister Khudayer Abbas said Monday.


Huge crowds of Iraqi Shiites, estimated by reporters at up to 100,000, marched about three miles to the University of al-Mustansariyah, where a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani delivered a speech he said was directed at Annan, the U.S.-led occupation authority and its Iraqi allies.

more

[jpgray]

1. Sorry, but we're Sistani's bitch at this point

We don't have enough guys to put a good face on Iraq if he decides to get violent.

[cthrumatrix]

2. shrub doesn't want true democracy...another LIE... we should get the heck

out of Iraq as soon as the UN can step in....we cannot dictate who the next leader is...it's their country.

[SoCalDem]

3. Sounds like the shi'ite is going to hit the fan...and soon

I see an Iran-esque republic emerging.. They will kick us OUT in short order.. The Kurds will rebel big time if they are denied their "liberation".. If they succeed, the Turks will respond, and it will get UGLY..

As for the oil? That will probably be a bigger problem, with several groups claiming it, and the interruptions via bombings, will probably not amount to much actually being shipped..

Kuwait will try to intervene, and will probably be threatened again.. They are sitting on most of the coastline,and the new islamic government will probably want it back.. Iran will side with the shi-ite Imam in charge ,and we are off to the races..

I do not see the UN ever getting involved in a big way again..

[jpgray]

4. Man, I'll have to brace myself for seeing a lot of that pun, won't I?

:D

[mikehiggins]

14. Exactly what the first George Bush warned again

Dubya has managed to make the world safe for chaos and destruction. There will be no way to stop this disaster once it starts rolling. Remember Beirut? One year it hosts the Olympics; then it's in ruins. Baghdad is already largely in ruins. Next year it'll be approaching Afghani levels and Afghanistan will be a Taliban state once again.

But on a lighter note, people keep wondering if Wes Clark is enough of a true democrat to deserve their vote.

[teryang]

5. Sovereignty without elections?

This is the plan that the Rhodesians in the American regime expect the UN to endorse?

Events in Iraq are out of control.

[ramapo]

6. Good to see citizens participating

That's a pretty big turnout

[Barrett808]

7. Yes, and despite recent murders by trigger-happy UK and US forces...

...firing indiscriminately into protesting crowds. We seem to be having a Boston Massacre-level event every few days now.

[mbperrin]

15. Quite a focus group, eh?

hmmmmmm

[Mari333]

8. We all predicted this would happen a long time ago

and the Buffoons in the WH ignored it...most of the world knew this would happen...all they did was stir up a hornets nest and create chaos and more destruction in the ME, and make us the most hated country on earth. We all knew it, we said it, in so many many posts over the last few years, and no one listened to us.
Vindicated, yes...but at what cost? at what fucking cost? Over 500 kids dead in Iraq, 10s of thousands dead and wounded...
was it worth it , people who ignored the warnings????
And today I read that the National Guard in the US is spread so thin it cannot protect our shores, and the cities are running out of monies to protect our own infrastructure..
all the bUsh admin did was create MORE terrorists, create MORE chaos, create a more dangerous world, and all for politics and Greed.
Our soldiers died for NOTHING.
www.mfso.org
www.bringthemhomenow.com

[Barrett808]

9. Oh, come on -- our soldiers are dying for Halliburton!

And that's a worthy cause, eh?

[Supormom]

12. In Minnesota

my husband is a member of the Army National Guard. Right now so many of our troops are deployed overseas that there are only 25 officers remaining in the state. If there were a natural disaster and the governor needed to call up troops, we'd be SOL!

[jayfish]

10. CNN Is Reporting That The Protesters Are Both Shia And Sunni.

It Could Be About To Hit The Fan

-SNIP-

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Sunni and Shia Muslims joined Monday for a massive, peaceful demonstration in Baghdad, marching in favor of a prominent cleric's demand for direct elections.

-SNIP-

-SNIP-

The Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shia Muslims' most senior ayatollah, has consistently rejected the coalition-IGC plans, announced in November, and said in a newspaper ad published last week that Iraqis should play the "big role" in choosing their destiny "as it was in the revolt of 1920" against the British occupation.

Shia and Sunni Muslims joined forces during that revolt -- which ultimately failed but forced the British to reconsider the system of government they used in Iraq -- as they have in recent weeks against the American occupation.
-SNIP-

I really hope that nothing happens to set this alliance aflame. Our troops on the ground are not in a good position.

[Capt_Nemo]

11. Didn't you hear? the shrub is the great uniter!

:evilgrin:

[Jack Rabbit]

13. BBC Link

From the BBC Online
Dated Monday January 19 12:05 GMT (4:05 am PST)

Iraqis protest at handover plan

Crowds holding pictures of Ayatollah Sistani support his concerns
Tens of thousands of Shia Muslims have marched against coalition proposals for a transfer of power, just hours before the US seeks UN backing for the plan.
The rally in Baghdad follows a peaceful protest in Basra calling for direct elections to a transitional government.
US administrator Paul Bremer will ask the United Nations to support its plan for an interim selected authority.
Any sustained opposition by Iraq's Shia majority would cause serious problems for the US, correspondents say.
Monday's protest saw thousands upon thousands of Iraqis marching through the capital, many clasping each other's hands above their heads, to demand full general elections.

This call must be heeded. The US has no right to tell the Iraqi people who shall govern them or to whom they shall sell their resources. Those decisions are the people's and the people's alone.

There was only one good consequence of the US invasion of Iraq: the fall of Saddam. Even if a welcome event, the fall of Saddam cannot be considered a positive consequence. In fact, it is wholly negative. It leaves a power vacuum; the possibilities of filling this vacuum are endless.

The invasion was carried out for selfish purposes. Anyone who believes that Bush, his PNAC advisers and their corporate cronies have the best interests of the Iraqi people in mind is a fool. The goal was to place Iraq's natural wealth in the hands of those who have foot the bill for Mr. Bush's seizure of power. This was a colonial war; it was gunboat diplomacy fought with cruise missiles.

Self-determination is a natural right. This poster supports the Iraqi people's right to determine what is their national interests against the designs of Bush and his fellow colonialists.

[alcuno]

16. I see better coverage of Iraqi protests than those in the US.

What gives?