U.S. officials call shrine attack "act of desperation"

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) US officials in Iraq are calling the attack on a Shiite shrine in Samarra an ``act of desperation.''

A statement from Iraq commander General David Petraeus and US Ambassador Ryan Crocker also blames al-Qaida for trying to ``inflame sectarian strife among the people of Iraq.''

It isn't clear how the attackers evaded the shrine's guard force to detonate the blasts and bring down two slender golden minarets that flanked the dome's ruins at the mosque.

No casualties were reported in the attack.

Read more: http://www.wwl.com/pages/577254.php?contentType=4&contentId=606273

[ShortnFiery]

1. ``act of desperation'' = "last throes of the insurgency" ?

Here we go again. :eyes:

[Critters2]

7. Exactly the phrase that came to my mind. nt

[MUAD_DIB]

21. Right around the corner! They're ready to give up. That's why they've

changed tactics again.

Blow up a bridge or two. Cut off supply lines.

Antagonize the opposition then go kill some Americans.


Yep. They must be ready to surrender.

[saigon68]

27. "BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[Kagemusha]

2. Someone give Petraeus a cut deal on clues here.

Last time Al-Qaeda committed such a desperate act, they inflamed sectarian strife with great efficacy and efficiency. As terrorism goes it was a strategic coup.

[GliderGuider]

24. Petraeus couldn't get a clue if he stood in a field of horny clues during clue mating season,

smeared himself with clue musk and did the clue mating dance.

[ixion]

3. "an act of desperation" is true

but I'll bet the desperate ones are the US black ops guys. ;-)

[0007]

12. Hmmm........

[tom_paine]

36. I believe you hit the nail on the head

[ixion]

37. thanks. indeed, check out this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1131269

Negroponte behind Samarra blast
The US Deputy Secretary of State reportedly planned the attack on the holy Shia shrines in Samarra to help topple the Iraqi government. According to an informed source John Negroponte plotted the attack during an unannounced trip to Iraq on June 12 in order to fuel insecurity and sectarian violence in the country. Negroponte's motive was to overthrow Iraq's legitimate government, the same source added.
I have no idea if this story is true or not. The source is suspect, but we leave ourselves open for charges like this when we put criminals like John Negroponte in high positions. Middle Easterners will have no trouble believing it.—Caro

[maxsolomon]

4. pretty calculated desparation

this govt. & military have no idea how to fight al queda. i could do a better job, and i'm a athiest, pacifist pothead.

[The Wielding Truth]

19. Yea, it's like peace is not on the table. Have

they finished the monster "embassy",yet?

[Mz Pip]

5. Acts of desperation

are proof of how well things are going! Yay! Progress is being made!

Mz Pip
:dem:

[grytpype]

6. That's what they always say.

Like we're on the verge of winning.

[Xipe Totec]

8. Oh, thank goodness!

That makes me feel soo much better! :eyes:

[reichstag911]

9. More "catastrophic success." nt

[MichiganVote]

10. Got a problem? Blame al-Qaida.

[neuvocat]

11. Those acts of desparation work pretty well then.

They worked on the other mosques in order to inflame the public and create massive instability to a fever pitch, thereby creating massive headaches for the occupiers (namely the troops) to the point where they continually get maimed or killed. Of course the same "acts of desparation" work pretty well when it comes to bombing the oil pipeline, thereby depriving the occupiers of the very thing they went there for.

[thethinker]

13. Something does not ring right about this

The saints or holy men that are buried there were buried in the 800s. That is a long time ago.

It has always seemed to me that these Shiite and Sunni are capable of a lot things, but I can't see them blowing a mosque, even if it belongs to a different sect.

I have always felt that this might be the work of Americans. I think the Bush administration has promoted a civil war as an excuse to stay in Iraq. They have never had any intentions of leaving. They have to stay to protect the oil.

Does anyone know if this has ever happen before in the region? Have different sects blown up mosques before? Some of these mosques are very, very old. Have there been wars between sects in the middle east before? My knowledge of the history of the region is very limited. I know they went to war with invaders, like during the crusades. How often did these groups fight with each other? Did they blow up mosques?

Hope some one can enlighten me.

[Barrett808]

15. Iirc, Wahabbis in Saudi Arabia occupied the Kaaba, the shrine of Mecca

There was a bloody firefight with S.A. security forces, but no damage came to the shrine.

Am I remembering that correctly?

[GliderGuider]

25. It's like the IRA bombing the Vatican

I think you're right, nothing is as it seems in this affair.

[Tempest]

14. Damn those "dead-enders"

To the rational, it was calculated move.

[PurityOfEssence]

29. These guys've got more last throes than a Carl Reiner death scene

(Obscure reference to an old Dick Van Dyke episode where Rob dreams he's a sheriff in the old west; Reiner plays the bad guy and has a death scene in a saloon after being shot that goes on forever. Hysterical.)

[Tempest]

30. Or Paul Rueben's death scene in Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Which is my favorite movie scene ever.

[PurityOfEssence]

33. You bastard! (It was a tough toss-up which example to use)

That was brilliant. It ranks with any glorious schtick I've ever seen. Paul Reubens is one of those very, very special hams, up there with John Astin, Dick Shawn and Rod Steiger.

I was literally choosing which example to use.

[Tempest]

35. I always enjoy

Running into someone else who's a connoisseur of cheap B movies.

I'll put in the DVD just to watch that scene when I want a good laugh. Picturing him as Pee Wee Herman doing that scene makes it especially entertaining.

[BootinUp]

16. I smell desperation

in this statement by US Officials that is.

[rpannier]

17. Part of that "Last throes" style desperation

[sendero]

18. Hmmmm..... as desparate as ....

.... adding 20,000 troops to the stew and actually selling the idea that it will accomplish something?

The "insurgents" are desparate to get us out of their country - the Bush administration is desparate to save face.

And since it doesn't cost them anything to keep risking the lives of others and depleting the treasury, they aren't going to stop until someone makes them.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

32. They're desperate, not stupid...

nt

[ekelly]

20. It's more like

an act of "Four years later, we can STILL do whatever the hell we want, and you can't stop us."

[gratuitous]

22. "I don't care if it's the First Act of Henry the Fourth"

We're leaving.

[underpants]

28. ...

:rofl:

[wageslave71]

23. I wonder if the Shiites know we're arming Sunnis?

[Barrett808]

31. You bet they do

Now we're arming both sides in the civil war. Which is all fine and good for the arms industry, but for the rest of us...

[Javaman]

26. Good thing these "desperate attempts" aren't more successful, huh?

:sarcasm:

[Renew Deal]

34. It was a "last throe" to be precise

:eyes: