Rare Alliance Between Shiite, Sunni Could Bolster Resistance

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4453-2003Aug16.html

NAJAF, Iraq, Aug. 16 -- A popular Sunni Muslim cleric has provided grass-roots and financial support to a leading anti-American Shiite cleric, a rare example of cooperation across Iraq's sectarian divide that has alarmed U.S. officials for its potential to bolster festering resistance to the American occupation, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials say.

The ties mark one of the first signs of coordination between anti-occupation elements of the Sunni minority, the traditional rulers of the country, and its Shiite majority, seen by U.S. officials as the key to stability in postwar Iraq.

The extent of the cooperation remains unclear between Ahmed Kubeisi, a Sunni cleric from a prominent clan in western Iraq, and Moqtada Sadr, the 30-year-old son of a revered Shiite ayatollah assassinated in 1999. But ideologically and practically, it represents a convergence of interests between the two figures, who were left out of the Iraqi Governing Council named last month and, in their own communities, have emerged as influential if still minority voices of opposition to the four-month-old occupation.

more

[premjan]

1. shia-sunni cooperation

this is how many nations were formed, by hate of a common enemy. perhaps the US occupation will do the same for Iraq, by providing shias and sunnis something to pull together about.

[Mari333]

3. as I said yesterday Bush UNITER

Only his administration UNITED the whole muslim world against is, and the greed of the BFEE has made the whole world hate us in general..
It will get worse.

[NJCher]

2. reminder

bush has lived up to his campaign promise of being a uniter, not a divider, once again.


Cher

[lanlady]

4. Saudis are at it again?

A senior official with the 25-member Governing Council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the financing as "100 percent true" and said it was common knowledge among Iraqi politicians and parties on the council.

U.S. officials declined to say where the money was coming from, but the Iraqi official said he believed it came from private individuals in the Persian Gulf, whose conservative, Sunni Muslim states have viewed with anxiety the prospect of a Shiite-dominated government in neighboring Iraq. By supporting the most radical Shiite elements, he said, they hope to prevent a united Shiite front in the contest for postwar power.

Hmmmm, sounds like Bush*'s buddies in Riyadh are undermining the US again. When do we finally get to try the Bush* family for treason?

[tabasco]

5. More bad news for the troops

Iraqi resistance becoming more cohesive, contrary to the Bush cabal claims. This means more dead Americans. More lives ruined. GW Bush is a criminal for lying to start his war. GW Bush apparently has no conscience and should pay for his crimes.

[leftchick]

6. so .....cooperation among Iraq's sectarian divide

"has alarmed U.S. officials for its potential to bolster festering resistance to the American occupation, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials say."
Well a big fucking DUH!!! We were saying this would happen at peace rallys for months before the invasion. They were warned for months before the invasion this would happen. How many more people have to die before the neocon asses in charge admit defeat and let the UN in?!?

[lumpy]

15. leftchik, I admire you.

You pull no punches with the truth. Unless the Congress gets behind a Bush recall, his pride will stand in the way of truth & common sense. More will die.

[Atlant]

7. It just goes to prove: Bush *IS* a uniter, not a divider! (NT)

[starroute]

8. The most important part of this story is Moqtadah al-Sadr

I posted this on a similar thread last night, but it bears repeating:

I've been keeping an eye on Moqtadah al-Sadr ever since last April, when he was suspected of being responsible for the murder of a pro-American Shi'ite cleric in the mosque in Najaf. Since then, his name has come up over and over as being at the heart of ordinary Iraqi resentment of the US occupation.

Al-Sadr is from a prominent Shi'ite clerical family, after whose martyred members the Baghdad slum of Sadr City was recently renamed. He's only in his twenties and never carried his own clerical studies far enough to be taken seriously as a Shi'ite religious authority, but he's been steadily accumulating political power.

Al-Sadr has had his own militia for a while. A month ago, when US forces surrounded his home in Najaf after he denounced the occupation, 3000 of his supporters came out to demonstrate and forced the US to back down.

A couple of weeks ago, al-Sadr announced the formation of an "army of al-Mahdi," and quickly pulled in thousands of volunteers. Although he hasn't gone so far as to declare jihad against the US, he seems to be doing everything possible to stir up Iraqi discontent.

After the flag incident earlier this week, it was al-Sadr who rejected the initial US apology and demanded a full public apology and compensation for the victims. And now this article suggests that he's forming alliances with the Sunnis -- a truly amazing development. No wonder the US is getting actively nervous about his growing influence.

I'm getting a little nervous myself. This guy seems genuinely dangerous, the sort of person who could set the entire Middle East aflame. (As an exercise for the reader, I suggest you look up the word "mahdi" to get an idea of what archetypes he's drawing upon.) Compared to what al-Sadr might become, Osama bin Laden seems like no more than a quixotic romantic, playing self-indulgent games on the periphery of events.

[sandnsea]

9. Here's another link

"Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, an Iraqi religious leader who has been living in Iran. His group, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), has been working for the overthrow of Saddam since the 1980s. SCIRI reportedly has close ties to Iranian leaders. Its militia, the 5,000-to-10,000-member Badr Brigades, was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard."

http://www.cfr.org/background/background_iraq_shiites2.php

This is a quick overview of who's who in Iraq. So, if you're the US President and you read this a brief like this, how can you think things are going to go smoothly in Iraq? We need to get the UN and the Arab League in there immediately.

[Aidoneus]

14. a response from before

(original subject)--events are working in Sadr's favour..

A combination between the continued provocations and insults by the occupation force and the collaboration of the establishment Shia organizations will make him a popular fellow as time goes on..

Hizb al-Daawa & SAIRI, the Shia Islamic revolutionary parties of the previous generation, are both involved with the puppet council set up by proconsul Bremer; of the Mideast countries, I believe only Iran recognizes the legitimacy of this council as yet (as if many of Iraq's neighbors have any right to "legitimacy" in their own right aside from being faithful US servants, but that's another story altogether). Iraqis who oppose the occupation will turn to Sayyid Sadr's movement instead of those groups if their collaboration with Bremer and the invaders continues. There are certain parallels here to 80s Lebanon that are difficult to resist making comparisons to, however unsavory the collective search for analogous events tends to be on occasion.

As far as setting the whole Middle East aflame, considering the status quo in the region and the world, maybe just such a thing is overdue. :shrug:

[CatWoman]

10. It follows logically

that's how the Native Americans kicked Custer's ass -- by banding together, putting aside their differences in order to defeat a common enemy.

[wryter2000]

11. Maybe this is what Chimpy meant!

Maybe this is what Chimpy meant when he said he was a uniter, not a divider.

[SOS]

12. Welcome to 1920

The Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis, who did not get along, united to drive out the British occupiers. It took 11 years and many thousands died, but the Brits gave up and left. The UK-approved king was installed in 1931, but he was later killed and dragged through the streets of Baghdad.

[NNN0LHI]

13. The British used poison gas then too

http://www.bigeye.com/080202.htm

<snip>In 1920, Iraqis rose in revolt against Britain but were crushed. The British RAF routinely bombed, strafed, and even used poison gas against rebellious Kurdish and Shia tribesmen. Nineteen years later, King Ghazi I threatened to invade Kuwait - part of historic Iraq until detached by British oil imperialists. He died soon after in a mysterious car crash, the work of Iraqis said, of British intelligence.

[NJCher]

16. I took your suggestion, starroute

My, what an abundance we have of "divinely guided ones." Leading us straight down the path to extinction!


Cher