We planted a time bomb...will it go off?

[1549]

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Dozens die as sectarian attacks escalate in Iraq
By Patrick Cockburn
Published: 10 July 2006
Iraq moved further towards all out sectarian civil war yesterday after Shia gunmen attacked a Sunni district in Baghdad, killing at least 42 people. Many were dragged from their cars at two fake police checkpoints and shot dead.

Masked Shia militiamen, probably from the Mehdi Army, stormed into the Sunni district of Jihad in west Baghdad in revenge for a bomb attack on a Shia mosque. Four carloads of gunmen arrived at 10am and started stopping vehicles. Those with identity cards showing they had Sunni names were shot. Bodies were dumped throughout the area.

Saad Jawad Kadhim al-Azzawi, the Shia owner of a supermarket, said he saw heavily armed men drag four people out of a car, blindfold them and make them stand by while they forced five other men out of a minivan. "After 10 minutes," he said, "the gunmen took the nine people to a place a few metres away and opened fire on them."

The slaughter of people with the "wrong" identity cards in the heart of the Iraqi capital has not happened on this scale before, and marks a serious escalation in sectarian hatred. Tit-for-tat mass killings are now commonplace. In an act of retaliation for the massacre of Sunnis in Jihad district, two car bombs exploded near a Shia mosque in the evening, killing 17 people and wounding 45.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi troops, backed by US forces, attacked the Shia stronghold of Qadamiya, killing nine people, wounding 30 and arresting seven.

Three Americans and one Iraqi government soldier were wounded. The US troops appear to have been looking for a Mehdi Army commander called Abu Diraa, accused of torturing and killing Sunnis. Local people said all those arrested were civilians, including a school teacher.

A savage sectarian conflict is now raging in Baghdad and nearby provinces in central Baghdad. Both the Shia and Sunni communities are turning districts in which they are a majority into bastions from which the minority is expelled.

Districts that have not been attacked fear that they may be stormed. After the Shia gunmen stormed Jihad yesterday, the Mehdi Army sealed off Shula, a mainly Shia neighbourhood, fearing that there would be a retaliatory attack.

The inability of the government to stop sectarian warfare has become ever more evident in the past few days. The US-Iraqi government attack into Qadamiyah, which caused heavy damage to buildings, was seen by many Shias as the US leaning towards the Sunnis.

The US has always been opposed to Iraq becoming a Shia-dominated state, led by religious parties and closely allied to Iran. One effect of the increasing sectarian violence has been to reduce US casualties, with only nine American soldiers killed this month - which is less than half the usual rate.

Baghdad is becoming more like Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, with people being routinely slaughtered because of their identity card showing their name and place of birth. Many mixed districts are becoming either Sunni or Shia. Even a hardcore Sunni district such as Amariya in west Baghdad was once 30 per cent Shia.

Mehdi Army leaders denied that they were responsible for the killings. The nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to whom the Mehdi Army is nominally loyal, said: "I urge all government and popular forces to exercise restraint and take responsibility in front of God first, and society generally." Most of the political parties have their own militias. Meanwhile, five American soldiers have been charged with rape and multiple murder in a case which has infuriated Iraqis.

According to documents obtained by Reuters news agency, the girl who was raped, Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi, was only 14 years old, going by her identity card. US officials had claimed she was 20.

Private Steven Green has been charged with a rape and four murders, along with four other soldiers. American witnesses said the men had gone to a house, killed the parents and a six-year-old child before carrying out the rape. They then killed the girl, burned the bodies and the house.

Iraq moved further towards all out sectarian civil war yesterday after Shia gunmen attacked a Sunni district in Baghdad, killing at least 42 people. Many were dragged from their cars at two fake police checkpoints and shot dead.

Masked Shia militiamen, probably from the Mehdi Army, stormed into the Sunni district of Jihad in west Baghdad in revenge for a bomb attack on a Shia mosque. Four carloads of gunmen arrived at 10am and started stopping vehicles. Those with identity cards showing they had Sunni names were shot. Bodies were dumped throughout the area.

Saad Jawad Kadhim al-Azzawi, the Shia owner of a supermarket, said he saw heavily armed men drag four people out of a car, blindfold them and make them stand by while they forced five other men out of a minivan. "After 10 minutes," he said, "the gunmen took the nine people to a place a few metres away and opened fire on them."

The slaughter of people with the "wrong" identity cards in the heart of the Iraqi capital has not happened on this scale before, and marks a serious escalation in sectarian hatred. Tit-for-tat mass killings are now commonplace. In an act of retaliation for the massacre of Sunnis in Jihad district, two car bombs exploded near a Shia mosque in the evening, killing 17 people and wounding 45.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi troops, backed by US forces, attacked the Shia stronghold of Qadamiya, killing nine people, wounding 30 and arresting seven.

Three Americans and one Iraqi government soldier were wounded. The US troops appear to have been looking for a Mehdi Army commander called Abu Diraa, accused of torturing and killing Sunnis. Local people said all those arrested were civilians, including a school teacher.

A savage sectarian conflict is now raging in Baghdad and nearby provinces in central Baghdad. Both the Shia and Sunni communities are turning districts in which they are a majority into bastions from which the minority is expelled.

Districts that have not been attacked fear that they may be stormed. After the Shia gunmen stormed Jihad yesterday, the Mehdi Army sealed off Shula, a mainly Shia neighbourhood, fearing that there would be a retaliatory attack.
The inability of the government to stop sectarian warfare has become ever more evident in the past few days. The US-Iraqi government attack into Qadamiyah, which caused heavy damage to buildings, was seen by many Shias as the US leaning towards the Sunnis.

The US has always been opposed to Iraq becoming a Shia-dominated state, led by religious parties and closely allied to Iran. One effect of the increasing sectarian violence has been to reduce US casualties, with only nine American soldiers killed this month - which is less than half the usual rate.

Baghdad is becoming more like Beirut during the Lebanese civil war, with people being routinely slaughtered because of their identity card showing their name and place of birth. Many mixed districts are becoming either Sunni or Shia. Even a hardcore Sunni district such as Amariya in west Baghdad was once 30 per cent Shia.

Mehdi Army leaders denied that they were responsible for the killings. The nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to whom the Mehdi Army is nominally loyal, said: "I urge all government and popular forces to exercise restraint and take responsibility in front of God first, and society generally." Most of the political parties have their own militias. Meanwhile, five American soldiers have been charged with rape and multiple murder in a case which has infuriated Iraqis.

According to documents obtained by Reuters news agency, the girl who was raped, Abeer Qasim Hamza al-Janabi, was only 14 years old, going by her identity card. US officials had claimed she was 20.

Private Steven Green has been charged with a rape and four murders, along with four other soldiers. American witnesses said the men had gone to a house, killed the parents and a six-year-old child before carrying out the rape. They then killed the girl, burned the bodies and the house.

The worst thing for nation building is an economic dominant minority. The result of government insecurity in such countries is always ethnic violence. I wonder where this is headed...civil war? genocide? I hope we are capable of nnegotiating some sort of peace between the two before the violence reaches those levels.

P.S.: the author's last name is cockburn--giggle giggle

 

[shepherdboy]

I think the Iraqi people are smarter then that. The insurgents (if we are calling them that today) have tried this ploy over and over again with little or no success in launching a religious/civil war. Most of the Iraqi people just want to go to work, raise kids and enjoy life just as most Americans. The few religious fanatics are just a reflection of an unpopular idea. U.S. boots on the ground have more of a real idea on how successful the mission in Iraq is going. If you want a distorted picture of Iraq, by all mean continue reading the the agenda driven press. For truth, just ask some of my brothers who are there and serving with honor. As for the U.S. servicemen who are accused of war crimes. I will wait for a proper trail before I post any type of judgment on someone who is innocent until proven guilty.

 

[nosarcasm]

the American potitical leadership on both sides has only one goal. To get out as fast as possible. The best options is to give the Shiites and Kurds enough military power so they can "pacify" the Sunnis. It will be ugly but I assume the Sunnis otherwise will not quit.

 

[Gunny]

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The worst thing for nation building is an economic dominant minority. The result of government insecurity in such countries is always ethnic violence. I wonder where this is headed...civil war? genocide? I hope we are capable of nnegotiating some sort of peace between the two before the violence reaches those levels.

P.S.: the author's last name is cockburn--giggle giggle

My question to you, is what does the story have to do with your thread title? The fact is, unless you replace Saddam with "another" Saddam, the battle between the Shia, Sunni, Ba'ath and/or Kurds is going to happen.

The Iraqi gov't needs to become self-sustaining and we need to get out and leave Iraq to its own internal turmoil. Taking out a ruthless piece of crap who was an international threat is one thing -- involving ourselves in a religious civil war is quite another.

 

[1549]

My question to you, is what does the story have to do with your thread title? The fact is, unless you replace Saddam with "another" Saddam, the battle between the Shia, Sunni, Ba'ath and/or Kurds is going to happen.

The Iraqi gov't needs to become self-sustaining and we need to get out and leave Iraq to its own internal turmoil. Taking out a ruthless piece of crap who was an international threat is one thing -- involving ourselves in a religious civil war is quite another.

The time bomb is unleashing an economic dominant minority into a less than stable environment.

I think the Iraqi people are smarter then that. The insurgents (if we are calling them that today) have tried this ploy over and over again with little or no success in launching a religious/civil war. Most of the Iraqi people just want to go to work, raise kids and enjoy life just as most Americans. The few religious fanatics are just a reflection of an unpopular idea. U.S. boots on the ground have more of a real idea on how successful the mission in Iraq is going. If you want a distorted picture of Iraq, by all mean continue reading the the agenda driven press. For truth, just ask some of my brothers who are there and serving with honor. As for the U.S. servicemen who are accused of war crimes. I will wait for a proper trail before I post any type of judgment on someone who is innocent until proven guilty.

I think there are many people in Iraq who just want to raise kids, have a family, etc. Just as there were many Rwandans, Jews, and Armenians who with similar aspirations. Unfortunately, that group of people falls mercy to the hardliners in a hostile environment like Iraq. If the hardliners can gather enough followers to follow through on an ethnic slaughter--it will happen. Our soldiers can fight with all of their might, but how would they stop an active genocide?

 

[Gunny]

The time bomb is unleashing an economic dominant minority into a less than stable environment.



I think there are many people in Iraq who just want to raise kids, have a family, etc. Just as there were many Rwandans, Jews, and Armenians who with similar aspirations. Unfortunately, that group of people falls mercy to the hardliners in a hostile environment like Iraq. If the hardliners can gather enough followers to follow through on an ethnic slaughter--it will happen. Our soldiers can fight with all of their might, but how would they stop an active genocide?

Our soldiers could not, and as I said, internal strife is not our problem, BY POLICY.

I will caveat that with our soldiers could by instilling strict martial law a la The Marshall Plan; however, we as a Nation no longer have the will to do such a thing.

Unless we declare unconditional war against all Muslim religious extremists and enofrce it with an iron hand, we will not stop the religious strife in the Middle East.

We gave them a country and a democracy. Let the Arabs fight to keep it just as we fought to keep ours.