PHOTOS: Iraq Shi'ite religious Festival.....causing 'emergency measures'

[diamond14]

it always feels like the bushite 'arrogant' christian crusaders have NO IDEA about the Iraqi people's culture...AND, my other concern is that: a TET OFFENSIVE could easily be in the making, right under the bush* noses....in plain view....





An Iraqi Shi'ite blows a horn as he begins to celebrate the religious festival of Ashura in the holy city of Najaf, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 12, 2005. Iraq will seal its borders next week to prevent Shi'ite pilgrims flooding into the country, in the latest emergency measure intended to thwart insurgent violence. The move comes as Shi'ites prepare to mark Ashura, a major Shi'ite religious ceremony which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed in battle more than 1,300 years ago. REUTERS/Ali Jasim



Iraqi Shi'ite men beat their backs with metal chains as they participate in the religious festival of Ashura, outside the holy shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in Baghdad, February 12, 2005. In an attempt to prevent a wave of bloodshed coinciding with Ashura, the interim government has said it will seal all borders between February 17 and February 22 to stop pilgrims flooding into Iraq. Many pilgrims come from neighboring Iran and from Pakistan. REUTERS/Akram Saleh





Iraqi Shi'ite men beat their backs with metal chains as they participate in the religious festival of Ashura, outside the holy shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in Baghdad, February 12, 2005.



Iraqi Shi'ite men beat their backs with metal chains as they participate in the religious festival of Ashura in the southern city of Basra, February 12, 2005.



Shiite followers re-enact the scene of the death of Imam Hussein in Najaf, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 in the lead-up to the day of Ashoura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram which started Thursday. Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, was beheaded in nearby Kerbala in 680 AD in a battle over the line of succession to the Prophet Mohammed, and the event is celebrated by Shiites today as the festival of Ashoura. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)



Iraqi Shi'ite men, dressed as ancient Islamic warriors, prepare for the religious festival of Ashura in the holy city of Najaf, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 11, 2005. Iraq will seal its borders next week to prevent Shi'ite pilgrims flooding into the country, in the latest emergency measure intended to thwart insurgent violence. This moves comes as Shi'ites prepare to mark Ashura, a major Shi'ite religious ceremony, which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, who was killed in battle more than 1,300 years ago. REUTERS/Ali Jasim



An Iraqi Shi'ite woman, follower of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, cries while attending the religious festival of Ashura in the holy city of Najaf, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 11, 2005.



Iraqi Shi'ite men, dressed as an ancient Islamic warrior, take part in the religious festival of Ashura in the holy city of Najaf, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 11, 2005.



An Iraqi Shi'ite man, dressed as an ancient Islamic warrior, rides a white horse as he takes part in the religious festival of Ashura in the holy city of Najaf, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 11, 2005



Iraqi Shi'ite men beat their backs with metal chains as they participate in the religious festival of Ashura in the southern city of Basra, south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, February 11, 2005.



A Shiite muslim man flagellates himself in the holy Shiite city of Karbala, 100 km south of Baghdad on the second day of Ashoura. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's paid a surprise visit to Iraq, as the country was rocked by yet more violence, with 13 people killed by a car bomb near a Shiite mosque that added fuel to fears of sectarian strife.(AFP/Abdel Amir)



Shiite followers re-enact a scene of the death of Imam Hussein in Najaf, Iraq, Friday, Feb. 11, 2005 in the lead-up to the day of Ashoura, the tenth day of the month of Muharram which started Thursday. Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, was beheaded in nearby Kerbala in 680 AD in a battle over the line of succession to the Prophet Mohammed, and the event is celebrated by Shiites today as the festival of Ashoura. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

[Freedom_from_Chains]

1. Iraqi Shi'ite men beat their backs with metal chains

I remember seeing them do this on the evening news during the American hostage crises in Tehran. Kind of gets that deja'vu thing going.

[diamond14]

3. western cultures cannot understand this at all.....

America's inability to understand Iraqi culture is one of the BIG bizarre mistakes in bush* WARS....


EVERYTHING bush* does in Iraq (including the Iraq elections) are simply PHOTO-OPS for the American Public....


at some point soon, the BIG PUSH to throw out the Americans will begin...the elections have actually made it all WORSE....

[Freedom_from_Chains]

8. the BIG PUSH to throw out the Americans will begin

Unfortunatly, I think you are correct on this point.

[oasis]

2. Chain whips. Ace Hardware and Home Depot will be supplying them next year.

Ashoura will become another great holiday for capitalism.

[PsychoDad]

4. Wonderful pics, thank you.

" Iraq will seal its borders next week to prevent Shi'ite pilgrims flooding into the country"

Won't that dampen the already scarce Iraqi tourist dollar?

[Igel]

5. It was widely announced ahead of time, and they (Allawi et al.)

advised any pilgrims to get in the country ahead of time.

Last year there were some pretty good sized booms during Ashura. They don't want a repeat.

I suspect we'd disagree on the significance of Tet.

[diamond14]

6. sooOOOO, a LOT of people came across the Iraq border AHEAD of TIME?

what sense does that make for security? and for preventing violence?


'Significance of TET' is quite different from whether a TET-type offensive is being planned in Iraq.....this giant religious festival would be a good time for everyone to firm up their plans...BOTH Iraqis and those who came across the border AHEAD OF TIME to join them....IMO, bush* is completely missing the BIG picture here...

my own prediction is GREATLY INCREASED VIOLENCE, and not restricted to just Iraqi troops/police...but MAJORLY against OUR soldiers, currently hunkered down in their 'fortified' bases and the 'green zone'...

[Igel]

7. Yeah, the expectation is that people would have entered the

country ahead of time. Or not enter. I guess the announcements would have been spread through the Shi'a communities in S. Arabia and Iran (also Lebanon, Pakistan, Bahrain, and a couple of other countries). I noticed it in some newspaper, but it wasn't a big deal.

I think the general idea is that people could be registered, entry would be orderly, and any foreigners coming in to blow up lots of Shi'a wouldn't have finalized their plans yet. Not sure it'll do a good job.

You can't stop the odd Sunni that would want to drive from Ramadi for a little massacre. While most pilgrims make the trek on foot (once they're in country), I can't seem them keeping all cars off the road like they did for the elections. Iraq's economy's in shambles, another complete shutdown wouldn't help it.

If I were going to bother to predict, I'd expect a few large-sized booms, maybe 100-150 Shi'a "collaborators by virture of breathing" killed, and a few fewer Sunni Arabs among the living.

[diamond14]

9. bush* is such an IDIOT....he's so happy that the borders are sealed

to prevent violence during this HUGE religious Festival...all of bush* media have mentioned that the borders are closed, implying that Americans have everything under control (hell, we can't even CLOSE our own borders here in America.....people pour over OUR borders illegally every single day, under bush*)

but bush* actually had his puppet, allawi, ENCOURAGE people to COME ACROSS THE IRAQ BORDER ahead of the Festival.....despite that bush* made many announcements about the necessity of closing the borders, and condi complained that the neighbors (Syria and others) aren't doing enough to secure the their border with Iraq.....

yet, I am certain that thousands and thousands already CAME ACROSS THE BORDER before the festivals, under another one of the bush* insane ideas.....


expect LOTS more violence....bush* is operating with his usual madness and insanity....

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: :nuke: