Shi’Ite Extremists Re Emerge In Iraq

The Bush White House has proven that it’s easy to call something a ‘success’ when you don’t give a damn about the facts. Shi’ite Extremists Re-Emerge in IraqBy Cliff Montgomery – Mar. 25th, 2008Baghdad’s U.S.-guarded Green Zone was struck with a chorus of rockets and mortars Sunday and a car bomber pounded an Iraqi army station in the city of Mosul. They are just two of the new attacks which have killed scores nationwide.These latest attacks reveal the true state of “security” in Iraq, as rebel groups again rachet up their civil wars. American troops again find themselves in the middle of the mess, as U.S. troop casualties hit 4,000.At least some of this new wave in violence may be blamed on a renewed activity from Moqtada al-Sadr’s Madhi Army. After months of relative quiet, Sadr’s militiamen again are battling against U.S. and coalition troops.The Madhi Army fought in at least four Iraqi towns on Tuesday, including Baghdad. The hardline Shi’ite Muslim cleric said he may call for a countrywide revolt if assaults both on his groups and on “poor people” are not stopped.”We demand that religious and political leaders intervene to stop the attacks on poor people. We call on all Iraqis to launch protests across all the provinces,” Sadr declared in a statement delivered by movement representative Hazam al-Aaraji.”If the government does not respect these demands, the second step will be general civil disobedience in Baghdad and the Iraqi provinces,” the statement continued.Liqa al-Yassin, an Sadr bloc MP, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the Sadr groups would boycott all political proceedings “until the government agrees to our demands.”Intense clashes occurred between Mahdi Army militiamen and Iraqi troops in the southern oil-rich city of Basra. The fighting has killed at least seven individuals and has wounded 48, said officials.As it approached evening in Iraq, Mahdi militiamen also openly fought with U.S. and Iraqi forces in eastern Baghdad–the first such occurrence since last October.Sunday’s attack in Mosul perhaps was the most deadly of the last few days. A suicide bomber raced his vehicle straight through a security checkpoint and detonated explosives next to an Iraqi army headquarters, injuring 42 people and killing 13 Iraqi soldiers, said police. It apparently is not yet known who committed that action.But those who have been reading know that the so-called “success” of Bush’s troop surge has always been based on little more than a “significant underreporting of violence” and wishful thinking.For months, Shi’ite Islamist political groups have enforced an extremist Islamic rule in Iraq’s oil-rich southern provinces, often employing their private armies to spread terror in the region, tribal Shi’ite leaders have said.Tribal heads spoke to Reuters late last year on condition of anonymity, citing a fear of assassination if their identities or even their tribal regions were made public.”Fear rules the streets now,” one sheikh told Reuters.”We cannot speak our minds, people are not allowed to oppose them. They would immediately disappear or get killed. The evidence of that is I am talking about it but cannot use my name,” he reasonably pointed out.The sheikhs also told Reuters that the spreading Islamist religious tyranny allows only religious music to be heard in public places, and forbids dancing as well as alcohol use. And of course, women now are being humiliated and harassed for wearing “inappropriate” clothing.But none of these developments have kept the Bush Administration from maintaining a cozy friendship with the Shi’ite extremist-dominated government in Baghdad, the Islamist Shi’ite Alliance.The December 2005 elections in Iraq handed this group the reigns of power. The Islamists’ growing strength has damaged the secular tribal leaders’ traditional hold on power. Secular leaders now find themselves with a dwindling source of revenue and patronage.”Some say the Shi’ites are lucky because they are now ruling Iraq, but that is wrong. It is the Islamist Shi’ites who are ruling Iraq. Their victory was a curse for us,” one sheikh told Reuters.The sheikhs say the Bush Administration has foolishly allowed Shi’ite Islamists to establish a growing dictatorship of the southern provinces.Only a confederacy of dunces would call such developments “success”, or would believe that battles among such extremist groups were now a thing of the past.In fact, the Spark probably should remind readers that the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) does not track most violence within sects, including Shi’ite-on-Shi’ite attacks. Therefore many–if not most–casualties of this escalating civil war are not counted in U.S. reports.The Bush White House has proven one thing: It’s easy to call something a “success” when you don’t give a damn about the facts.Today, we’ve discussed how Bush’s poor dealings with the Shi’ites are now blowing up in our troops’ faces. We’ll discuss his misdeeds with Iraq’s Sunni leaders tomorrow.Like what you’re reading so far? 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