Iraq:--Radical Shiite cleric declares solidarity with Hamas

[Aidoneus]

Last Update: 02/04/2004 19:54
Radical Shiite cleric declares solidarity with Hamas
By The Associated Press

KUFA, Iraq - A radical Shiite Muslim cleric has expressed solidarity with the militant Palestinian group Hamas and said that he should be considered the group's "striking arm" in Iraq.

"I have said and I repeat my expression of solidarity which Hassan Nasrallah called for to stand with Hamas," Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Friday in a reference to Nasrallah, the leader of the militant Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.

Last month, Nasrallah announced that his party would close ranks with Hamas.

"Let (Hamas) consider me their striking arm in Iraq because the fate of Iraq and Palestine is the same," al-Sadr said during a Friday prayer sermon in Kufa, his home base south of Baghdad. He did comment on what he meant by the phrase.

--snip--

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/411917.html

[rfkrocks]

1. Hey-I can't take anymore good news out of Iraq

Its been a great week-hasn't it? This invasion was brilliantly executed don't you think? I feel safer than ever. Mmm-the smell of koolaid

[Quetzal]

2. It seems like Muqtada al-Sadr is more radical than

Sistani. Wasn't he the on that set up those special courts?

I don't really view Sistani as a radical. He seems more like a moderate in my view.

[Aidoneus]

35. he is, but not because of this

Sayyid Sistani also made a harsh announcement after the martyring of Sheikh Yassin. Part of it:--

"We call upon the sons of the Arab and Islamic nations to close ranks, unite and work hard for the liberation of the usurped land and restore rights. This morning, the occupying Zionist entity committed an ugly crime against the Palestinian people by killing one of their heroes, scholar martyr Ahmed Yassin."

Sadr's people established order where the invaders left chaos. The courts are a part of it, the humanitarian services they provided after the collapse of the state are another.

[louis-t]

3. I've said this before, I'll say it again...

The clerics will take over in Iraq, declare the new 'constitution' to be against the laws of Islam, and Bingo-instant theocracy. Mark my words.

[lanlady]

8. and I believe you!

The clerics are the only ones with political and moral authority in that country. I wonder if it ever occurred to Boy Genius in the Oval Office that imposing democracy without established, secular political parties in place is impossible.

[number6]

10. me too

The clerics will take over in Iraq,

[DemoTex]

14. Bingo, buddy

Mark our words!

[0007]

29. I have a question or two for 'ya Captain.

Ahman Chalabi is a Shi'ite Muslim right? He has had a big big voice in the U.S. plans for an invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, right? And it has been said that Chalabi has been considered to be one the next leaders in Iraq, right?

1. Where does this joker hang out and who with in Iraq?

2. Do the Shi'ite have any respect for this man?

3. When all hell breaks loose who will this turkey turn too?

I've heard or read that Chalabi has an Army of his own for protection. It seems to me that the U.S. are having a hard time controlling the Iraqis in general. Wouldn't Chalabi be an easy target or would he turn and get the hell out of the country.

[wellst0nev0ter]

34. He's A "Born-Again" Shiite

You know, so he can become "one of the boys" again, but almost every Iraqi can see through his song and dance.

And yes, when all hell breaks loose, I wouldn't be surprised to see his charred body hanging from a lamppost if he doesn't get the hell out of there.

[saigon68]

36. A charred body hanging from a lamppost

The new form of greeting when one drives into town. Sure to let the unwary know, they have to behave, when they are visiting !!!!

[Just Me]

30. Doesn't freedom include choosing the form of democracy?

In the USA, we have a strange combo of corporate democratic republic. If the Iraqi people want an islamic democracy or theocracy, is that somehow lesser than or worse than what we have in this country? I just don't think so,...not if that is what they want. At least, an islamic democracy would treat its people better than this corporate democratic republic which heartlessly leaves 34 million + men/women/children in poverty and without health care.

[saigon68]

32. Agree w/you

Be careful of your Anti-State thoughts, the "corporate special interests" are watching :-) LOL

[DemBones DemBones]

4. Well, I guess the good news is that he didn't declare

solidarity with Al Qaeda.

You'll excuse me for not applauding this.

[bfusco]

11. they will be fighting each other

Al Qaeda (who considers Shias heretics)/Sunnis and the Shia's will be warring with one another, which will add another ugly dimension to what shrub has created.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Oh, goody! Our own Hamas types that are our responsibility!

Lovely!

[Ripley]

6. So now there are two I/P situations?

The original and the really fricking bigger one called Iraq.

Smirk has to go down for this...he claimed he was going to bring peace to the area and it has only gotten incredibly worse.

Does anyone else think that Iraq's only solution peacefully is to 1) not build US bases and occupy them and 2) let them divide up their country this time...maybe it should be three countries with 3 leaders...the way it is divided, not an artificial whole?

[bfusco]

12. it's a total mess

The problem is then where do you divide it, how will the other nations in the region and other minorities in the various enclaves react? Will Saudi Arabia with it's Whabbi form of Islam be thrilled with a Shia theocracy aligned with Iran next door? The Sunnis that moved into Kirkuk by displacing Kurds wont be to thrilled about being in Kurdistan and inevitably the Kurds will look to settle scores. An independent Kurdistan with the oil wealth of Kirkuk will give Turkey/Iran/Syria jitters as surly their oppressed Kurdish minorities will be emboldened. Sunnis who benefited most from Hussein but are minorities will not be thrilled with any partitioning of the country. This whole mess that Bush created is fucked no matter how you look at it.

[Ripley]

13. What in the hell are you talking about?

The people who live there should have a choice no? If not, you are admitting that it is America's colony. That is a choice for more 9/11's.

[realdeal22k]

18. That is a choice for more 9/11's.??????????????????

Are you saying that there can be an excuse or rational for another 9/11 or even for the first one? Do you have an excuse for the first 9/11?

[0rganism]

23. Think about it! This is why Bush the Elder didn't invade back in 1991

The entire dumbass justification for propping up Saddam Hussein in the first place was that his crappy police state would be a damn sight easier to deal with than the regional chaos that now comes in the wake of his removal. Sure, it's fucked up, but it's the result of centuries of European imperialism. There is no natural political structure in the region, and now one has to evolve.

Our pretty little constitution will last a year, tops. You can't just foist an entire governing structure like this onto people and hope they'll be content with it, particularly when it contains such counter-cultural language like suggesting a quota of female legislators. Predictably, the Shi'a majority will elect theocratic leaders, because that's the only leaders they have left after Saddam disappeared their political leaders. Those theocrats, in turn, will modify the constitution until it suits their preferences -- who knows what they'll be? Apparently, they're starting to predictably align themselves with the goals of Hamas, which means more trouble for Israel.

Meantime, the Sunnis are going to be in direct conflict with the Shi'ites and the northern Kurds, and blame their fall from power on Americans. The area around Baghdad is going to become a hornet's nest for any western travelers; if Al Qaeda ops didn't have free access during Saddam's secular totalitarian regime, they sure do now.

The Kurds, in turn, are sandwiched between the Sunnis, the Turks who massacre them for fun, and Iran. That's why they were pissed off that the new Iraqi constitution didn't allow their area greater federalism, including control of the local armed forces. They have to protect themselves somehow, and if the Iraqi military won't do it, they'll have to form their own paramilitary units to secure their turf.

This is going to make the splintering of Yugoslavia seem like a goddam family reunion.

And the funny thing is, we can't do a damn thing about it now. Too-stupid-to-be-president cracked this mess wide open by invading and deposing Saddam Hussein, and the causal scenario has to play out one way or another. The natural progression would have been a gradual weakening of the Ba'athist hold over the Kurdish region, eventually giving the Kurds their own de-facto state. The Shi'a and Sunni groups would have evolved political alternatives, eventually the younger Husseins would be overthrown by coup, and those alternatives might have had a chance to come to power.

That cannot happen now. If we pull our troops out, a 3-way civil war is pending. If we maintain an occupation force, they're just convenient targets for assymetrical warfare like we saw two days ago. This scenario is a big loser, just like the dumbshit president who got us all into it.

[bfusco]

28. No

That's not the point I was making and Organism described perfectly what my fears of how Iraq will be fractured. As he/she mentioned, I think the dye is cast and the country will be divided but it will be one ugly, violent blood bath and who knows what will emerge.

[orwell]

7. More 'Evidunce'

Remember...he's a uniter.

O

[mike1963]

9. I smell a "final solution" creeping closer, closer....

:eyes:

[realdeal22k]

15. How sweet.

A nice cosy relationship between murdering terrorists. I just hope they all join up together and make a really big target for the rest of the civilized world to target and eliminate them once and for all.

Then we may have some peace in the world between fanatics.

[rfkrocks]

16. I'm curious how we will accomplish your goal

What army are we going to use for the great crusade? The one Bushco just beat into the ground?-my guess-and I am going out on a limb here-is that we can't frigging launch any more invasions because we just shot our wad in the great operation Iraq FUBAR. Now we are going into guerrilla warfare and there ain't no way we are going to come out of this on top-King George just took his cigarette and cocktail and stumbled into the great ME powder keg and we are all along on this "e-ticket" ride-Worst foreign policy disaster since the war of 1812

[realdeal22k]

17. I don't know

What I do know is that those that blow up innocent people on purpose will not survive the coming war on terror...no matter who leads this war it will be won by those that refuse to accept the murder of innocents.

[rfkrocks]

19. we will not survive the war on terror

with simplistic platitudes masquerading as policy-what we won't survive is Pakistan Khan giving Iran the nuke bomb-I think we invaded the wrong "I" country in the middle east but thats what we get when we elect a man who disdains human reason-

[Cocoa]

21. the U.S. has blown up more innocents than Sadr

[mmm]

24. are you talking about the IDF killing innocent Palestinians?

I thought so

[tkmorris]

26. All sides in this conflict kill innocents

Don't you get that yet? The only difference is that some victims are labeled "victims of terrorism" and screamed and cried over while others are "collateral damage" and their deaths are wiped from the public record.

[Matilda]

31. Where do you come from?

n/t

[Cocoa]

20. Sadr hasn't used violence yet

so it's not correct to label him and his followers as murderous terrorists yet.

[RowWellandLive]

22. hamas are murderous terrorists

or have you missed that fact?

[Aidoneus]

25. A comparison is damning

The invaders slaughtered thousands more in Iraq in just a couple months' time than Hamas could do if cloned and given a century. Have you missed that fact?

[tkmorris]

27. So is Sharon

Have you missed that?

[Aidoneus]

33. this is not the same, alg0912

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x460893

[saigon68]

37. Wait til Bremer sends these thugs to Kick Shia ass