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. And anyways we have known that most of the police are Shiite, and since the Interior Ministry is controlled by Shiites,
Guardian
Senior ministers from the three main Shia factions united yesterday to denounce an American raid on a Baghdad mosque complex in which at least 20 people died, opening the biggest rift between the US and Iraq's majority Shia community since the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Baghdad's governor, Hussein Tahan, a member of the rival Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq (Sciri), announced that local officials were ending their contacts with the Americans in protest at the killings. "The Baghdad provincial council has decided to stop dealings in regards to services and politics with the coalition forces because of the cowardly attack on the mosque," he said.
The interior minister, Bayan Jabr, also of Sciri, who has been strongly criticised by the US embassy for his links with Shia militias, told Al-Arabiya TV: "Entering the mosque and killing worshippers was a horrible violation. Innocent people inside offering prayer at sunset were killed."
Iraq cleric expected to gain from U.S. raid
Iraq's radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr may turn to political advantage the bloody results of a U.S.-Iraqi raid on a mosque compound in Baghdad.
Political analysts say anger over the killings is likely to give Sadr political ammunition both on the street and at the negotiating table with Iraqi leaders who have been struggling to form a government more than three months after elections.
"Sadr has always appealed to the poor and disadvantaged. These killings will enable him to recruit more people for his Mehdi Army militia," said Hazim al-Nu'aimy, a political science professor at Mustansiriya University in Baghdad.
Tensions high as Iraqis bury mosque dead
Shi’ite political leaders accused U.S. troops of killing the 20 worshippers at the Mustafa mosque on Sunday but police and residents said many died in clashes between U.S. troops and militiamen loyal to radical Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
US military spokesmen have not commented on the accusations.
“No one is protecting us,” shouted Hamid Taayab, his voice raised in anger. “If it wasn’t for the Mehdi Army we would be slaughtered in our homes.”
US troops defend raid, say Iraqis faked "massacre"
U.S. commanders in Iraq on Monday accused powerful Shi‘ite groups of moving the corpses of gunmen killed in battle to encourage accusations that U.S.-led troops massacred unarmed worshippers in a mosque.
"After the fact, someone went in and made the scene look different from what it was. There‘s been huge misinformation," Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq, said.
Government-run television has shown footage of bodies lying without weapons in what Shi‘ite ministers say is a mosque compound run by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The security minister accused Iraqi and U.S. troops of killing 37 unarmed men.
Giving the first U.S. military briefing on Sunday‘s events in Baghdad, Chiarelli said the raid by about 50 Iraqi special forces troops backed by some 25 U.S. "advisers" had been the fruit of long intelligence work. But he said he did not know the religious affiliation of 16 "insurgents" who were killed.
Originally posted by Syrian Sister
After all, why do they need him when they have Sistani...
Sadr is the only one who wants to unite the sunni's and the shia against the americans.
For now i have faith that the mehdi army will fight again.
So if the Sunni's hate you, and you now admit the shia's hate you.
What is it you are doing in iraq?
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Champions of the poor or sectarian thugs? A crisis over a U.S.-backed raid on an Iraqi mosque that cost at least 16 lives has again thrust attention on a Shi'ite militia led by fiery young cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
His Mehdi Army fighters were guarding the Baghdad mosque complex at the time of Sunday's assault and shot at Iraqi troops as they approached, witnesses in the neighborhood said.
"The Iraqi forces tried to enter the mosque and the Mehdi army fired at them. Iraqi forces entered the mosque and killed people," car mechanic Ali Jabber told Reuters.
Sadr's aides denied the Mehdi Army was involved in the violence and said the dead were innocent worshippers.
U.S. commanders have talked only of "terrorists" holding a hostage in the compound and say the bodies of gunmen killed in fighting had been piled in the mosque to simulate a massacre.
"22 Terrorists killed while firing at coalition troops from a mosque in the hopes that they wouldnt shoot back. Iranian/Syrian backed insurgancy leaders see the propaganda value in hindsight of US routing..
posted by MsPalestinian08: “Every Iraqi a terrorist? Anyone that defends his life is a terrorist? Huh? Tell me Who the hell are you to say who is and who isn't. [Edited by Don W]
How are Muslims terrorist when this land belongs to us? How are we terrorist when you are the occupiers? I would never in my life support 9/11 ever!! So wake up . . Fight those who fight you. This is our right . . and you're against it . . I wish you the best of luck. [Edited by Don W]
The Iraqi commander during a controversial raid by American and Iraq forces is backing the U.S. version of a battle that left 16 Iraqis dead, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan reports.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the Iraqi commander says accusations that U.S. forces killed innocent civilians in Sunday's raid on a building in Baghdad were "not true."
Link to Source
posted by Seekerof: “Of further interest to whom considers it of merit try this:
by Seekerof [Edited by Don W]
The Iraqi commander of a controversial raid by joint American and Iraq forces is backing the U.S. version that left 16 Iraqis dead, CBS News reports. In an interview the Iraqi commander says accusations that U.S. forces killed innocent civilians in Sunday's raid on a building in Baghdad were "not true."
US News
The U.S. military was trying to send a "little reality jab" to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr when American and Iraqi troops raided a Shiite community center and shrine over the weekend, says a top U.S. military official.
The mayor of Baghdad promptly cut off cooperation with the U.S. Embassy, and Shiite politicians suspended their negotiations to form a new government. The U.S. military has long contemplated taking tougher steps against Sadr and his troublesome militia but has held off in the past because it did not want to antagonize his many fervent supporters. This raid, officials say, was intended as a reminder to Sadr of the U.S. military's reach in Iraq.
Shiite Ayatollah Ignores Letter From Bush
A letter from President Bush to Iraq's supreme Shiite spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, was hand-delivered earlier this week but sits unread and untranslated in the top religious figure's office, a key al-Sistani aide told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The aide "who has never allowed use of his name in news reports, citing al-Sistani's refusal to make any public statements himself" said the ayatollah had laid the letter aside and did not ask for a translation because of increasing "unhappiness" over what senior Shiite leaders see as American meddling in Iraqi attempts to form their first, permanent post-invasion government.
The aide said the person who delivered the Bush letter "he would not identify the messenger by name or nationality" said it carried Bush's thanks to al-Sistani for calling for calm among his followers in preventing the outbreak of civil war after a Shiite shrine was bombed late last month.
The messenger also was said to have explained that the letter reinforced the American position that Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari should not be given a second term. Al-Sistani has not publicly taken sides in the dispute, but rather has called for Shiite unity.
Originally posted by Seekerof
Of further interest to whom considers it of merit?
Try this:
The Iraqi commander during a controversial raid by American and Iraq forces is backing the U.S. version of a battle that left 16 Iraqis dead, CBS News correspondent Lara Logan reports.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the Iraqi commander says accusations that U.S. forces killed innocent civilians in Sunday's raid on a building in Baghdad were "not true."
Link to Source
Also, link to the video:
Link
seekerof
[edit on 29-3-2006 by Seekerof]
Hi SeekerOf, I tried the link but it leads to a completely different article, "Rice, Straw Make Surprise Iraq Trip."
I could not find the interview, and the link to the video is broken.
Do you have the correct links, and if not, what was the name of the Iraqi commander, and where was he stationed?
The Mustafa Mosque Massacre was No Accident or Error
Let's be clear: the attack on the Mustafa mosque was no accident, nor was it some stupid move by a low-ranking officer who didn't know the implications of what he was doing. The attack was a deliberate act of intimidation and provocation directed against the Shi'ia majority by U.S. occupation authorities. It will not be the last.
The U.S. has no interest in a successful Iraq government, since it is now clear that such a government will be Shi'ia led, and close to Iran politically. Therefore, my guess is that the fallback strategy is to rev up the Shi'ia militants, stir up civil strife, and perhaps even to get the Sunni minority, long the heart of opposition to the U.S., to turn to the U.S. for help, as the Kurds did years back.
Any way you look at it, this is a horrible mess--one that at $500 billion and counting, is bankrupting this country, destroying its image around the world, and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis.